Perfect Picture Book Friday: GET READY, MAMA! Plus Giveaway

Posted on April 8, 2022 by viviankirkfield

Happy Perfect Picture Book Friday, dear friends. This book really struck a chord with me. When I was a kid, my mom always got up in the morning to make breakfast for us…but even though she did it, she would have preferred to stay in bed. She’d set her alarm on snooze – and roll over for ‘just three more minutes’. And when I became a mother, I finally understood how important those ‘three more minutes’ were. Author Sharon Giltrow is offering a giveaway – a copy of this lovely new book that just launched this month! Make sure you leave a comment at the end of the blog – and please share the post on social media so that everyone can find out about this relatable book.

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Asian Festival of Children’s Content and PPBF

Posted on February 15, 2013 by viviankirkfield

This post has three major parts: an update on the Asian Festival of Children’s Content, my review and activity for Perfect Picture Book Friday and the winner of the $25 check for International Book Giving Day.

Perhaps I need to give you a treat, as Susanna Leonard Hill does, to give you energy to get through this. In keeping with the Asian theme, I give you a serving of Basmati Rice Pudding with Pineapples and Grapes.

The Asian Festival of Children’s Content (AFCC) brings together content creators and producers with parents, teachers, librarians, and anyone interested in quality Asian content for children.

According to the AFCC mission statement, “It provides an opportunity for writers, illustrators, editors, publishers, agents, distributors, parents, children, teachers, and librarians to meet, learn, develop their craft, and discover business opportunities.”

The Asian Festival of Children’s Content impacts 1.5 billion children in Asia as well as their parents, professionals, and businesses involved in their development. I’m immensely honored, extremely excited and somewhat nervous to have been invited to speak on two of the panels at the conference this May. In preparation for my trip to Singapore, I’ve been seeking out books by Asian authors and information about the Asian culture.

Today, as part of Perfect Picture Book Friday, I’m sharing The Inch-High Samurai.

The Inch-High Samurai

Retold/translated by Ralph F. McCarthy

Illustrated by Shiro Kasamatsu

Publisher: Kadansha International (1993)

Ages: 4 and up

Themes:

Self-esteem, believe in oneself, caring about others, inner strength, outward appearances are unimportant, follow your dreams

Opening Lines:

“In Naniwa, in old Japan, there lived a woman and a man who hadn’t any children, so they spent their days alone.

But every evening, rain or shine, they’d go to Sumiyoshi Shrine and pray for just one tiny little baby of their own.”

Synopsis:

A man and a woman’s prayers are answered when their little baby is born. They love and cherish this child although he never grows much taller than an inch. At the age of thirteen, he leaves his family to pursue his dream of becoming a samurai, one of the brave and noble warriors. After sailing to the Capital in a rice bowl, Inchy Bo introduces himself to the Lord of Sanjo and asks to be taken into the household. The Lord of Sanjo’s daughter is entertained, taught and protected by Inchy Bo. In the end, an encounter with a monster provides the means for the hero to realize his dreams.

Why I like this book:

Ralph McCarthy has done a masterful job of retelling/translating this old Japanese folktale. The text is in both English and Japanese…what a wonderful resource! In the spirit of Tom Thumb, the story encourages us to discount outward appearances and look within for a person’s true worth. The illustrations by Shiro Kasamatsu are vibrant and colorful…I’ve always loved Oriental art.

How a parent can use this book:

Children will love this story…the colorful illustrations and lilting rhyme are charming. More than that, this is a story about setting a goal and facing one’s fears. The main character does not wait for success to come to him…he steps up, speaks out and is willing to take risks to get what he desires. This is good advice for all of us.

Related Activities:

Find step by step instructions with illustrations for this and many Japanese crafts at: http://www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/japan/

Enchanted Learning Software’s
Origami Samurai Hat
More Kinder Crafts

You can wear this origami Samurai hat. Samurai were ancient Japanese warriors.

To make a Samurai hat wearable by a child, you’ll need a piece of paper about the size of a piece of newspaper, about 20 inches (51 cm) square.

Supplies needed:

A large piece of paper (you can use a sheet of newspaper)
Scissors
Markers or crayons

Start by making a square piece of paper. To start making the square, fold one corner of a piece of paper over to the adjacent side.

To finish making the square, cut off the small rectangle, forming a square (which is already folded into a triangle).

Position the triangle so that the fold (the long side) is on top.Fold one top corner of the triangle over so that it touches the bottom corner.Do the same with the other corner.

Fold both of the tips up (fold at the dotted line pictured on the left), so that they go to the top. For the rest of the detailed illustrations, please click on the link above.

Fold each of the upward-pointing tips outwards. Fold along the dotted line pictured on the left.

There are now two large triangles on the bottom. Fold the uppermost triangle most of the way up over the top half of the hat.

Fold the remaining strip of the triangle up and over the top part of the hat.

Fold the other large triangle up and into the hat.

Decorate your hat with crayons or markers.

For more origami projects, click here.

Perfect Picture Book Friday…come and join Susanna Leonard Hill’s fantastic group of picture book writers, illustrators, librarians and others who love books and kids.

As promised, we are awarding a check for $25 to a literacy organization in honor of International Book Giving Day. Thank you to all who left comments and nominated their favorite charity…and the winner is…The Nooksack Tribe, nominated by Dawn over at Tales from the Motherland. Please email me at vivian@positiveparentalparticipation.com to tell me how to make out the check and where to send it. And Dawn, if you think they would benefit from receiving a copy of Show Me How, I’d be happy to send that along as well.

All around the blogsphere, there were posts yesterday about International Book Giving Day and how others were donating books. Reading them restores one’s faith in the goodness of people…check out a few if you have the time. The first link is the one that explains all about this amazing grassroot’s celebration:

http://bookgivingday.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/press-release-international-book-giving-day-january-143.pdf

http://motherdaughterbookreviews.com/international-book-giving-day-2013/

http://kindergartenbasics.blogspot.com/2013/02/celebrate-international-book-giving-day.html

http://www.alamosabooks.com/event/International-Book-Giving-Day-Nancy-Clancy

https://www.villagehealthworks.org/upcoming-events/165-international-book-giving-day-celebration

No batteries required…powered by a child’s imagination! Click this link to purchase a copy

Tessenjutsu: The Art of Fighting “Japanese” War Fans (lediarunnels27221219.wordpress.com)
Asian Festival of Children’s Content 2013 (sys-con.com)
Perfect Picture Book Friday/ Madlenka (clarbojahn.wordpress.com)
PPBF: Be The Kite…Inspiring Kids to Imagine and Soar (viviankirkfield.wordpress.com)
PPBF! Poopendous! By Artie Bennett (thiskidreviewsbooks.com)

Valentine’s Day 2013…The Many Faces of Love

Posted on February 14, 2013 by viviankirkfield

Valentine’s Day is a holiday that celebrates love. It began in honor of one or more early Christian saints named Valentinus. Valentine’s Day was first associated with romantic love by Chaucer when he wrote a poem in 1382 to honor the first anniversary of the engagement of King Richard II of England to Anne of Bohemia.

“For this was seynt on Volantynys day

When every bryd cometh there to chese his make.”

Back in college, I took a course on Chaucer and Old English…it was the only college course I ever dropped…but here’s a translation those two lines: “For this was sent on Valentine’s Day, When every bird comes there to choose his mate.”

By the 15^th Century, lovers would give each other flowers, candy and cards (which were known as Valentines.

Then there was Hallmark…and the rest is history!

Valentine’s Day celebrates many types of love. According to psychologist Elaine Hatfield, there are two main types of love: Compassionate Love and Passionate Love. Compassionate love features mutual respect, attachment, affection and trust. Passionate love is filled with intense emotions, sexual attraction, anxiety and affection. Ideally, passionate love, which is transitory and short-lived, turns into compassionate love, which is enduring and long-lasting.

C.S. Lewis, in The Four Loves, identifies four categories of love: Affection or storge which is fondness through familiarity, Friendship or philia which is the strong bond that exists between people who have a common interests, Romance or eros, which is being in love or loving someone and Unconditional Love or agape which is the love of caring regardless of the circumstances.

But what of a parent’s love for a child…what type of love is that?

Last night, I watched one of the old Leave It To Beaver episodes and I witnessed the four loves described by C.S. Lewis.

In the show, little Beaver loses his lunch money several days in a row. His parents warn him that he will be in trouble if it happens again. His father gives him money to go to the barber shop to get a haircut, but when the little boy gets there, he realizes he has lost the money again. His older brother agrees to help him and, when this results in ‘the haircut from hell’, the boys try to fool their parents by wearing hats.

Affection or fondness through familiarity: This is evident in the day to day interaction…Beaver’s brother is almost always willing to help him; Beaver’s mom and dad are caring and understanding.
Friendship or strong bond that exists between people: Beaver’s mom, “Kids are more afraid of losing their parents’ love than of being punished.”
Romance or loving someone passionately: Beaver’s dad, “The trouble with being a parent is that you love your kids so much, you scare the pants off them.”
Unconditional love: Beaver’s brother, “You can come to parents with any problem and they will understand.”

Happy Valentine’s Day! What are your plans for today? If you have young children, have fun with them…why not go for a walk, play ball, sing a silly song, draw a picture together, read a book with them. SHOW them as well as TELL them that you love them…every day. It will make a positive impact on the rest of their lives.

There is still time to nominate your favorite literacy organization to win the International Book Giving Day $25 donation…please leave a comment on my post. Tomorrow we will choose the winner with Random.org.

And if you have the time, you can take a look at the Valentine’s Day/International Book Giving Day YouTube video I made yesterday with author/educator Susan Case: SHOW THE LOVE: INTERNATIONAL BOOK GIVING DAY. We shared several picture books and crafts and ideas on helping kids celebrate Valentine’s Day and International Book Giving Day. Susan is giving away TWO copies of her fantastic Happy Mommies Handbook…don’t miss out…leave a comment on her blog post: http://kindergartenbasics.blogspot.com/2013/02/celebrate-international-book-giving-day.html