Tag Archives: Children’s literature

Perfect Picture Book Friday: Goodbye Mousie

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Today is Perfect Picture Book Friday where I link up with Susanna Leonard Hill’s fantastic group of picture book writers, illustrators, librarians and others who contribute a picture book review and related resources for parents, teachers and children. 

I just wanted to mention three important items:

1.      Do you let your kids watch TV?  Do you wonder how it affects them?  Check out a recent article: The Mom and Dad TV Debate at SheKnows.com…I contributed to the article: http://www.sheknows.com/parenting/articles/959777/is-your-child-watching-too-much-tv

2.      Are you concerned about the lack of physical activity in our kindergartens today?  Has the “block corner” all but disappeared in your child’s kindergarten…replaced by the “computer corner”?  Check out BLOCK PLAY on DivineCaroline.com…I contributed to that article as well: http://www.divinecaroline.com/22111/127731-technology-making-kids-depressed

3.      Congratulations again to the 20 libraries that will receive a copy of Show Me How!  With my son visiting for Mother’s Day weekend (yes, we had an AWESOME time…I’ll try to post some pics next week) and with preparing for a teacher-training program I am doing today for the staff of our local Boys and Girls Club at their annual Youth Development Conference (Building Self-Esteem…One Picture Book at a Time), I have not been able to pack the books and send them out yet.  My apologies…and I will endeavor to do so this weekend,

And now to our Perfect Picture Book Friday selection!

It is not easy to deal with death and loss.  Often, the first death a child experiences is the loss of a beloved pet.  Parents may be are unsure how to handle this type of situation and feel uncomfortable even talking about the subject. 

Here is a book that might help.

 

 Goodbye Mousie

Written by Robie Harris

Illustrated by Jan Ormerod

Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry (2001)

Ages: 3 and up

Themes:

Grief/loss, family togetherness, pets

Opening:

“When I woke up this morning, I tickled Mousie’s tummy.  But Mousie didn’t wake up.”

Synopsis:  

Mousie is the little boy’s beloved pet.  When Mousie gets sick and dies, the little boy goes through the various stages of grief.  First he denies it…”Mousie is NOT dead!  He’s just very, very sleepy this morning.”  Eventually, with the help of his parents, the little boy accepts the death of his pet and comes to understand that it is ok to feel angry and sad.

Why do I like this book: 

I love this book because it takes a difficult subject and deals with it in a sensitive loving manner.  Young children need to understand that death is a normal part of life.  They also need to be allowed to grieve and be angry or sad when someone they love dies.  Often, parents try to shield children from the truth about such matters…or, when a pet dies, they brush it off as if it was unimportant…but this book gives parents a gentle and loving example of how it can be done with respect and sensitivity.

Related Activities:

Here are a few internet resources that might be of help to parents and teachers:

Death and Dying: Valdolsta State University

Talking to Children About Death: Hospice

Helping Your Child Deal with Death: KidsHealth

Children’s Books About Death

In the story, the little boy paints a shoebox that he will use to bury his beloved pet.

Children do love to paint…and fingerpainting so much fun.  The sensation of the cool thick paint sliding under their fingers can be very calming for many children.  And painting is a wonderful vehicle for expressing emotions.

 

You will need: Fingerpaint (can be bought at hobby shops and toy and department stores OR you can make an EDIBLE fingerpaint by stirring up some vanilla pudding – white/yellow – chocolate pudding – brown – strawberry pudding – pink.  The edible fingerpaint is fun for kids of all ages), fingerpaint paper (you can use a roll of inexpensive shelf paper instead), COVERUPS for children and work surfaces.

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.

Related articles

PPBF: Millions of Cats and some awards

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English: Wanda Gág (1893-1946), American autho...

Image via Wikipedia

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

My selection today is another classic picture book…this one from 1928…the author/illustrator, Wanda Gag, won the 1929 Newbery Honor Book Award.  According to Wikipedia, Ms. Gag pioneered the double page spread in this book.  “She used both pages to move the story forward, putting them together with art that sweeps across the entire page spread.”

Millions of Cats is the oldest American picture book still in print!

 

 Millions of Cats

Written and illustrated by Wanda Gag

Publishers: Coward McCann (1928 original edition), Penguin (more recent editions)

Ages: 2 – 8

Themes: Celebrating the uniqueness of each individual, caring for pets, companionship

Opening: “Once upon a time there was a very old man and a very old woman.  They lived in a nice clean house which had flowers all around it, except where the door was.  But they couldn’t be happy because they were so very lonely.”

Synopsis:  A lonely old couple want a pretty little cat to keep them company.  When the husband finds a hillside FILLED with cats, he has trouble picking the prettiest…and all of the cats follow him home.  “Cats here, cats there, cats and kittens everywhere.  Hundreds of cats, thousands of cats, millions and billions and trillions of cats.”

When the man and his wife leave it up to the cats to determine who is the prettiest, mayhem breaks out and the couple run into their house!  Will the cats be able to choose who is the prettiest?  Will the old couple get the cat that they want?

Why do I like this book: 

The Rhyme!

The Rhythm!

The Illustrations!

The fact that this book is over EIGHTY years old and adults and children still love it and it is still in print!  Kudos to Ms. Gag!

The Story!  The results of the catfight are somewhat grisly…but the underdog (or should I say, undercat) wins out…through modesty and non-violence…definitely an important message for today’s world!

 

Related Activities:

New Hampshire Public TV has a kid-lit site where Caldecott Award winning books are read.  You can hear Millions of Cats here: http://video.nhptv.org/video/1688016012/

Anita Silvey’s Children’s Book-of-Days Almanac has a wonderful review of the book and additional information about Wanda Gag and her groundbreaking picture book work here: http://childrensbookalmanac.com/2010/12/millions-of-cats/

Scholastic has a page that provides some guidance for parents and teachers on how to use the book to encourage discussions about caring for others here: http://westonwoods.scholastic.com/products/westonwoods/study_guides/millions_of_cats.pdf

Last week I shared the Valentine Boat made from a shoebox.   Plain brown paper bags also make very versatile (and inexpensive) craft projects for kids.  I found this awesome cat made from a paper bag here: http://www.dltk-kids.com/animals/mbagcat.htm  Dltk-kids.com a wonderful resource for craft ideas.

 

You will need: Plain brown (or white) paper lunch-size bag, 2 pieces of construction paper (one should probably be black for the eyes and whiskers and the other can be pink…or any other color your child would prefer), glue, scissors, crayons or markers.

1.      Cut from the black paper: 2 pupils for the eyes and 6 whiskers.

2.      Cut from the other color paper: 2 eyes, oval stomach, nose, 2 triangles for ears, several small circles for the paws and a small triangle for the mouth.

3.      Place the closed bag with the open end down and attach the eyes, nose, ears, mouth, paw pads and whiskers with glue.

4.      Use marker or crayons to draw the line from the nose to the mouth and add other lines to make the bag more cat-like.

When dry, this cat-bag can be used as a puppet for role-playing or as a snack bag for a special book-reading picnic where Millions of Cats is read aloud!

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

I also wanted to thank Catherine Johnson, one of my new kid-lit picture book writing blogging friends for giving me the Liebster Blog Award and the Kreativ Blogger Award…you can see what she’s up to at: http://catherinemjohnson.wordpress.com/2012/02/06/campaign-trails-and-blog-awards/

 

 

This award comes with instructions to pass it along to others:

Bern at Momto2Postlildivas: http://www.momto2poshlildivas.com/ for her Sunday Showcase link-up that provides parents and teachers with an unbelievable array of crafts for kids.

Barbara at Spanish for Kiddos: http://www.spanish4kiddos.com/

D at Spanish Pinay: http://spanishpinaynanay.blogspot.com

Danae Farias at Believing Unbeliever: http://www.danaefarias.com/

Heather at Saved by Love: http://www.heather-riggleman.com/

PiP at Piglet in Portugal: http://pigletinportugal.com/

I hope you will take a few minutes and visit these great bloggers…they all have important things to say…and they say them very well!

Valentine’s Day Contest

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Children's Valentine, 1940–1950

Image via Wikipedia

  

 

Several weeks ago, children’s author, Susannah Leonard Hill, announced a contest: write a children’s story, in poetry or prose, about unlikely Valentines.

To tell you the truth, ever since the second week in January when I decided to participate in Julie Hedlund’s 12 x 12 Picture Book Writing Challenge, I am never without a piece of paper and a pen because I never know when a picture book idea will suddenly descend upon me.  Often, in the wee hours of the morning, a picturesque phrase pops into my head…and if I don’t write it down immediately, it disappears.  Of course, reading what is on the paper in the light of the morning is sometimes impossible…my handwriting is not the best and writing in the dark definitely does not improve it.

So here is my entry into Susannah’s Valentine’s Day Contest…as I read each verse, I can visualize the illustrations that might accompany this story.  I hope you all enjoy it and I welcome your feedback and constructive criticism…but please, be gentle…today is my birthday!

 

A Story of Unlikely Valentines

 

Whom Do I Love?  by Vivian Kirkfield

 

Whom do I love?

Quizzed the cloud-covered moon.

I love the dish that ran off with the spoon.

 

Whom do I love?

Posed the run-away dish.

I love the silvery stream-swimming fish.

 

Whom do I love?

Slurped the shimmering trout.

I love the rock-hopping toad that jumped out.

 

Whom do I love?

Croaked the hip-hopping toad.

I love the waddling duck on the road.

 

Whom do I love?

Quacked the web-footed duck.

I love the pig on the rusty farm truck.

 

Whom do I love?

Oinked the curly-tailed pig.

I love the floppy-eared dog that can dig.

 

Whom do I love?

Barked the diggity-dog.

I love the bee in the hollowed-out log.

 

Whom do I love?

Buzzed the bumblely-bee.

I love the mouse that lives under the tree.

 

Whom do I love?

Squeaked the scurrying mouse.

I love the curly-haired boy in that house.

 

Whom do I love?

Asked the sweet little lad.

I love my momma and I love my dad.

 

I’m excited to read the other entries that link up to Susannah’s Valentine’s Day Contest…we learn so much when we share our thoughts and encourage and support one another.