     |
         Shop TalkConnecting people and picture books
Posts Tagged ‘Mother’s Day’Happy Mother’s Day!Sunday, May 13th, 2012Happy Mother’s Day to all you wonderful mothers and grandmothers out there!
Do you have a special book that you remember your mother reading to you? That special book for me and my mother is Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney.
You can read about my special bond with my mother over this beautiful picture book here. Share with us your memories about special picture books to you and your mother. Happy Mother’s Day!
Picture Books for Mother’s DaySunday, May 8th, 2011Happy Mother’s Day! Sharing a picture book with your little one is a perfect way to spend your special day and remind you of the things that makes being a mama just so wonderful. Here are some of our favorite picture book picks for Mother’s Day. One of the most comforting things to a young child is knowing that you’re safe and that your mama is close. Many picture books play off the delicious suspense of a young character looking for its mother while delivering a satisfying and comforting ending when the mother is found.
The most recognizable book that uses this pattern is P.D. Eastman’s Are You My Mother? With wonderful humor, a newly hatched bird searches for his mother, asking animals and even planes and trucks, if each is his mother, until he finds himself back in the nest with his very own mama bird. Is Your Mama a Llama? by Deborah Guarino, illustrated by Steven Kellogg also uses this pattern as a young llama asks other baby animals about their mothers. Readers will love the repetitive rhyming text and game of guessing each animal by its description. Eric Carle’s Does a Kangaroo Have a Mother, Too? similarly shows a wide range of baby animals with their mothers with the comforting message that animals are just like us – they all love their babies. Each book reinforces the message that all animals have their own unique mothers. Even an almost wordless book like HUG by Jez Alborough shows this pattern in its most basic way. A little gorilla searches through an safari landscape looking for his mother, envious of the hugs other babies are getting from their mothers, until he finally finds his own mother and everyone shares a group hug. As the relationship between child and mother is often the most familiar to even the youngest child, it is understandably a popular topic for picture books. Many books express a mother’s unconditional love for a child in soothing ways, such as the bestselling favorites The Runaway Bunny, Guess How Much I Love You or Mama Do You Love Me? If you’re looking for something different, either as a gift for a new mom or a book to share with your own child, these are some favorites in our store that just maybe you haven’t come across yet.
Someday by Alison McGhee and Peter Reynolds A Chair for My Mother by Vera B. Williams
Mama, Is it Summer Yet? by Nikki McClure Mama’s Day by Linda Ashman, illustrated by Jan Ormerod Do you have a favorite mother character from a picture book? Share some of your favorite books with us in the comments below. Happy Mother’s Day! My Mother, Miss RumphiusWednesday, May 4th, 2011As Mother’s Day approaches, I can’t help but share a picture book that is very special to me and my mother. Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney (Viking, 1982) is one of our favorite books to read about this time of year. Cooney’s delicate watercolors, rich hues of purples, blues and pinks, perfectly capture the misty Maine landscape when lupines are in bloom.
As a child, Miss Rumphius knew that she wanted to travel the world and see many exotic faraway places and then spend her old age living by the sea. Her grandfather reminds her there is something else very important she must do in her lifetime, as well. This book wa For Mother’s Day one year, I gave her a copy of Miss Rumphius (to replace the beat-up old version I had since commandeered for my own personal picture book collection) for reading to her grandchildren and for keeping in the new library of her very own Maine house. Yes, finally a house in Maine by the sea, made more beautiful by this Lupine Lady mother of mine.
Happy Mother’s Day, Mom! Do you have a book that’s special between you and your mom? And for you mothers out there, is there one book that is particularly important to you and your child? Share with us in the comments below!
|
