November 7 – National Bison Day

Posted by Kath Carroll

About the Holiday

Beginning in 2012, a movement grew to name the bison as America’s national mammal and declare the first Saturday of November as National Bison Day to bring together bison supporters, including Native Americans, bison producers, conservationists, sportsmen, and educators to celebrate the significance of Bison. On May 9, 2016, President Barak Obama signed into law the proclamation naming the bison our national mammal.

The bison, also known as the American buffalo are considered a historical symbol of the United States and were integrally linked with the economic and spiritual lives of many Native American tribes through trade and sacred ceremonies. Bison also play an important role in improving soil and creating beneficial habitat whilst holding significant economic value for private producers and rural communities. Hunted to near extinction, bison now reside in all 50 states in national parks, refuges, tribal, and private lands.

My Bison

By Gaya Wisniewski

The first time a little girl meets the bison she was walking with her mother through a field of tall grass. “‘Look!’” her mother said. “‘He’s back!’” Every day after that the girl went out into the field to see the bison, coming a little closer each time until she was able to pet him. Once, she even thought she heard him whisper an invitation to come closer.

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Image copyright Gaya Wisniewski, 2020, courtesy of Princeton Architectural Press.

The little girl began to feed him food she’d made herself. Sometimes he didn’t like it, but he always tried it and that made her happy. One day it was time for him to move on with the rest of the herd. The girl walked with him as far as she could. When she said goodbye, the bison gave her a long look and she “knew he’d be back when snow covered the ground again.” The girl was lonely without him, but when winter returned she knew he had too without even seeing him. Now, seated together near the fire, the girl told him stories about the forest and what she’d done over the year while he, silent, “listened with tenderness.” She loved everything about him and loved him with her whole heart.

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Image copyright Gaya Wisniewski, 2020, courtesy of Princeton Architectural Press.

The girl and the bison grew old together, winter to winter, never feeling the cold of the snow. Once, they talked all night about their mothers. The girl remembering the first time her mother had shown her the bison, how she had comforted her and taught her the lessons of nature. She missed her mother so much, she told him, and imagined he missed his mother too.

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Image copyright Gaya Wisniewski, 2020, courtesy of Princeton Architectural Press.

One winter the bison didn’t return and no amount of looking could find him. The girl, now an old woman, went home. She cried with missing him. And then just as in those winters so long ago when she felt his presence without seeing him, she knew he was with her. In her heart she “heard him say, ‘I am in every spring flower, every sound in the forest, and every snowflake.’” And she knew he was with her always.

celebrate-picture-books-picture-book-review-my-bison-night

Image copyright Gaya Wisniewski, 2020, courtesy of Princeton Architectural Press.

Gaya Wisniewski’s stunning and gorgeous story about a friendship between a little girl and a bison is deeply moving, it’s straightforward and metaphorical meanings blending in harmony to settle in a reader’s heart. The girl’s and bison’s relationship is one of mutual respect and trust, and they are in many ways alike. With her shaggy coat and tousled hair, the girl looks like a miniature bison, while the bison is perfectly comfortable sitting at the table near the fire sipping hot chocolate or snoozing in the cozy built-in bed in the girl’s home. The girl loves the bison the way children love their pets, and the way she takes care of him replicates a mother’s tender affection and attention.

Here the text and images take on deeper meanings as the little girl offers the bison homemade food, holding her long-handled spoon to his mouth the way mothers the world over do for their babies. She walks with him to the edge of the clearing as he leaves in the spring, waving goodbye but with the promise of his return like a mother taking her child to the bus stop, seeing them off to college, or watching them move away.

celebrate-picture-books-picture-book-review-my-bison-sky

Image copyright Gaya Wisniewski, 2020, courtesy of Princeton Architectural Press.

At other times the bison seems to take on the role of the mother. In the endearing illustration of the bison and the girl talking over cups of hot chocolate, the girl relates how the bison would listen to her stories. Later, readers learn that her mother made her hot chocolate when she couldn’t sleep, letting them imagine how the little girl might have told her mother about her day, about the things keeping her awake. The china cup also holds the bison’s memory of cuddling with his mother, their fur smudged and merging with the steam rising from the hot drink. This blending of roles subtly demonstrates the cycles of life and the reciprocal nature of love.

Readers don’t know when the girl lost her mother; but a snapshot of the girl playing Ring around the Rosie with her and her teddy bear, in which only the mother’s arms are visible at the side of the page and the circle of light highlighting this scene is surrounded by darkness, hints at the loss. As the bison and the girl grow old together and there comes the winter when the bison does not return readers discover that any great love is always with them.

Wisniewski’s charcoal and ink illustrations, punctuated with blue create a mystical, dreamlike atmosphere where the forest and the mountains, the girl and the bison reach out to embrace the reader and invite them into this world of a love like no other.

A tender story to share all types of unending love with children, My Bison would be a poignant addition to home, school, and public library collections.

Ages 4 – 7

Princeton Architectural Press, 2020 | ISBN 978-1616898861

To learn more about Gaya Wisniewski, her books, and her art, visit her website.

National Bison Day Activity

Bison Coloring Page

Bison are majestic creatures. Enjoy this coloring page of a bison roaming Yellowstone National Park.

Bison Coloring Page

You can find My Bison at these booksellers

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books-a-Million

To support your local independent bookstore, order from

Bookshop | IndieBound

Picture Book Review

May 6 – National Smile Month

Posted by Kath Carroll

About the Holiday

During this month we take time to make sure our smiles are as bright and healthy as they can be by ensuring that we’re following the latest advice by dental professionals about brushing, diet, and oral health and scheduling dental visits for ourselves and our children. It’s also a great time to celebrate all the things that make us smile. One of which is spending time with our kids. On May 12 families will celebrate Mother’s Day—a holiday that’s guaranteed to bring out smiles all around!

Mom Loves Little Jumbo: Hello I Am Jumbo

By Yasushi Muraki

When young readers open the cover of this sweet board book, a tiny elephant named Jumbo introduces himself and his mom. “Mom is big,” he says. “I am small.” Mom’s size and strength come in handy when he falls, Jumbo explains, and if he’s in trouble, his mom keeps him safe. Jumbo’s mom not only protects him from big dangers like lions but from small bothers like rain.

Every day Jumbo’s mom takes good care of him. She shows him where to find the freshest grass and the most delicious fruit. Jumbo’s mom also remembers other things he loves, like having fun and playing hide-and-seek “She makes me laugh,” he says.

To show Mom how much he loves her, Jumbo picks “the most beautiful flower” for her. And at the end of the day? “At bedtime Mom cuddles me tightly. I like this best of all.” Yes, Jumbo reveals, “My mom loves me. And I love my Mom.”

Yasushi Muraki revels in that deeply felt awe little ones feel for their mom and all the things she does for them in his adorable board book. By using the matriarchal, close-knit structure of elephant families for his story, Muraki reinforces the bond between mother and child, which he simply, but lovingly demonstrates in his rich, textured images. Each page welcomes children with comforting earth tones and actions by Jumbo’s caring mom that even the youngest readers will find meaningful.

Told from Jumbo’s point of view, Muraki’s storytelling incorporates two straightforward sentences on each page. In the first, Jumbo reveals something that his mom does for him, and in the second, he explains how it makes him feel. Jumbo even plays a game with readers midway through the book. When Jumbo picks a flower for his mom, little ones will learn that gestures of love are reciprocal, and the cuddly ending will lead to lots of snuggling between mom and child.

A perfect book for little ones to share with their mom on Mothers’ Day or any day, as a new baby present, or baby shower gift, Mom Loves Little Jumbo: Hello I Am Jumbo would be a favorite on home bookshelves and to find at public libraries.

Ages 3 – 5

minedition, 2019 | ISBN 978-9888341788

Discover more about Yasushi Muraki, his books, and his art on his website.

National Smile Month Activity

Spool Elephant and Baby

Who wouldn’t like a tiny elephant for a pet?! With this easy craft you can make your own little pal to keep you company.

Supplies

Printable Elephant Ears Template
1¾-inch wooden spool with center hole, available at craft stores
¾ -inch wooden spool with center hole, available at craft stores
Gray craft paint
Chunky gray yarn
Gray felt, 1 8 ½ x 11 piece
Paint brush
Black fine-tip marker
Hot glue gun or fabric glue

Directions

To Make the Ears

Print the Elephant Ears Template
Trace and cut out the large and small ears

To Make the Body

Paint the spools with the gray paint, let dry
Glue the tab on the ears to the body of the spool to secure, allowing the ears to stick out on either side of one flat end of the spools
Wind the gray yarn back and forth around the spool, creating several layers of thickness
When the body is as thick as you desire, cut the end and secure with glue

To Make the Trunk

Cut a 2 x 4-inch piece of felt for the large elephant; 1/2 x 2-inch piece for small elephant
Roll tightly and secure with glue
Feed one end of the roll into the hole in the middle of the spool
Cut to desired length

To Make the Tail

Twist a small length of yarn and push it into the hole on the back of the spool
With the marker draw eyes and a mouth on the face

**You can find Mom Loves Little Jumbo at these booksellers**

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books-a-Million | IndieBound

Picture Book Review

May 14 – Mother’s Day

Posted by Kath Carroll

About the Holiday

We always love our moms, but on the second Sunday of May we celebrate everything they do for us. On May 9, 1914 President Woodrow Wilson signed a proclamation establishing Mother’s Day as “a public expression of our love and reverence for the mothers of our country.” First envisioned to honor all mothers instead of primarily your own, the day has become a personal holiday in which families celebrate in their own unique and meaningful way.

Just Me and My Mom

By Mercer Mayer

Little Critter and his pet frog were having a day out with Mom, traveling into the city on the train. Little Critter even got to buy the tickets himself. He’s also learned some manners and tried to help his mom get on the train, “but the steps were too high,” so his mom helped him instead. Soon they were all settled in and waiting for the conductor to punch their tickets. “But when the conductor came by, the tickets were gone. So Mom paid the conductor some more money.”

celebrate-picture-books-picture-book-review-just-me-and-my-mom-train

Copyright Mercer Mayer, courtesy of Random House Books for Young Readers

They disembarked into a very busy city. All the crowds, sounds, and sights were a little overwhelming, but Little Critter was only thinking of his mom. He “held her hand so she wouldn’t be scared.” Their first stop was the Museum of Natural History with its rooms full of dinosaur skeletons and eggs that are so tempting to touch.

In the next room there was a Native American exhibit, complete with mannequins wearing costumes to try on. Little Critter dressed up “just for Mom. But the museum guard didn’t like that.” The guard quickly showed them into another room where the Aquarium was. “There were lots of fish in a big tank of water.” Somehow Little Critter’s frog joined them. During the seal show, Little Critter became part of the program. He didn’t mean to end up on stage, he just wanted “a closer look at the seals.”

The art museum had weird pictures, and lunch at the fancy restaurant ended before it even began when the maître d’ threw them out for having a frog at the table. They “decided to have a hot dog from a stand. That was more fun anyway.” Then came the boring part. “Mom wanted to go to a big store full of dresses and stuff like that. Yuck.” Little Critter even had to be fitted for a new suit. When they passed the toy department, Little Critter found the enormous teddy bear he had “always wanted but Mom said, “‘It’s time to go.’”

celebrate-picture-books-picture-book-review-just-me-and-my-mom-museum

Copyright Mercer Mayer, courtesy of Random House Books for Young Readers

Finally, it was time to head back to the train station. They took a taxi and Little Critter “got to ride in the front seat. The taxi driver drove real fast. That was cool.” At the ticket window Little Critter’s mom had a good idea. She bought the tickets herself because she “didn’t have enough money to buy more tickets if these got lost.” All in all, what would Little Critter say about his day? “We had fun, just me and my mom. I even stayed awake all the way home—well, almost.”

With an eagle eye and perfect pitch, Mercer Mayer reveals the way it is for parents and kids—with plenty of laughs sprinkled in. In Just Me and My Mom, the day may be full of mishaps and shenanigans, but Mayer is always focused on the sweet intentions of Little Critter and the loving relationship between mother and child. Mayer’s city bustles with his well-known animal characters who are colorful in so many ways. Kids will recognize and giggle at Little Critter as he plays ball with the seals, picks up the dinosaur egg, scowls at the tailor, and enjoys a high-speed taxi ride through the city. Adults will appreciate the mortified looks on Mom’s face and also understand her ready smiles.

Ages 3 – 7

Random House Books for Young Readers, 2001 | ISBN 978-0307125842

You can enjoy tons of fun on the Little Critter World-Wide Network, including activities, movies, apps, a sing-a-long, and more!

Mother’s Day Activity

celebrate-picture-books-picture-book-review-mother's-day-card

Happy Mother’s Day Card

Here’s a pretty vase of flowers for you to color for your mom! You can make it even more personal by writing one thing you like best about your mom in the center of the flowers. Get your printable Happy Mother’s Day Card here!

Picture Book Review

May 8 – Mother’s Day

Posted by Kath Carroll

About the Holiday

Celebrating mothers dates back to the ancient Greeks and their annual spring festival honoring maternal goddesses. In the 1600s a Mothering Sunday was enacted in England, and employers encouraged their servants, apprentices, and any other employees who lived away from their families to visit their mother and bring her gifts. This tradition died out by the 19^th century, but gained popularity again after World War II when it merged with the American holiday.

The first modern notion of Mother’s Day came in 1872 and belongs to Juliet Ward Howe. It wasn’t until 1912, however, after Anna Jarvis promoted the holiday through a letter-writing campaign to politicians and newspapers across the country that Mother’s Day was celebrated in every state. President Woodrow Wilson made it a national holiday in 1914. Now Mother’s Day is celebrated around the world. Today, let your mom know how much she means to you!

Cuddles for Mommy

Written by Ruby Brown | Illustrated by Tina Macnaughton

While Little Owl sits on the tree branch reading her book and watching her Mommy knit, she feels like giving her a cuddle. But what kind of cuddle should it be? There is the kind of cuddle that’s just right to say good morning. But it’s afternoon and Little Owl and Mommy have already had their good-morning cuddle.

celebrate-picture-books-picture-book-review-cuddles-for-mommy-book

Image copyright Tina Macnaughton, 2016, text copyright Ruby Brown, 2016. Courtesy of Little Bee Books.

Perhaps a goodbye cuddle then. Those always feel good when Mommy drops Little Owl off at school in the morning. But Little Owl isn’t going anywhere. Little Owl thinks and thinks. “What about the cuddle I give you when I’m sorry?” asks Little Owl. But Mommy reminds her that she hasn’t done anything wrong.

Then Little Owl has another idea: there’s a special cuddle Mommy gives when Little Owl is scared. That might work—except that Little Owl isn’t afraid now. After a while Little Owl says, “’I always give you a cuddle to say thank you. Like when you’ve brought me a new book.’” Mommy Owl tells her to hold on to that cuddle because they are going to the bookstore later.

celebrate-picture-books-picture-book-review-cuddles-for-mommy-cooking

Image copyright Tina Macnaughton, 2016, text copyright Ruby Brown, 2016. Courtesy of Little Bee Books.

Little Owl thinks and thinks. What other reasons are there to give a cuddle? There’s the excited happy cuddle, but while Little Owl is happy, she’s not excited. And cuddles come when Mommy is proud of her, Little Owl decides, remembering her trumpet performance last week. And when Little Owl is sick; Mommy always cuddles her then, but she’s not sick today. The good-night cuddle is always a favorite, but it’s far from bedtime now.

Suddenly, Little Owl has a fantastic idea. “I know what kind of cuddle I can give you RIGHT NOW, Mommy!” exclaims Little Owl. “She wrapped her wings tight around Mommy Owl and squeezed tight. The Mommy Cuddle! Just because I love you!”

celebrate-picture-books-picture-book-review-cuddles-for-mommy-goodbye

Image copyright Tina Macnaughton, 2016, text copyright Ruby Brown, 2016. Courtesy of Little Bee Books.

Ruby Brown’s sweet dilemma makes for cuddle-perfect reading. The gentile and loving dialogue between Little Owl and her Mommy is a reminder for children that their mom is always there to make any day or event better with a hug and endless love. Kids will recognize and respond to all the different hugs and the nuances behind those squeezes.

Tina Macnaughton’s soft paintings of the adorable Little Owl and her Mommy are lit with glowing golds, greens, pinks and violets that reflect the love between them. Little Owl’s memories of all the different life events that elicit the cuddles she gives Mommy and gets in return are depicted with homey details that reinforce the closeness between mother and child. The special relationship between mother and child is evident on every page, where cuddles and hugs abound.

Little Owl is endearing in her earnest quest to find just the right hug for the feelings inside her, making Cuddles for Mommy an excellent book for bedtime or naptime—or for any time that a hug would feel just right. Cuddles for Mommy is a nice addition to a child’s bookshelf.

Ages 3 – 8

Little Bee Books, 2016 | ISBN 978-1499802030

Mother’s Day Activity

celebrate-picture-books-picture-book-review-paper-plate-owl

Make a Mother’s Day Hug Card

Moms love hugs on Mother’s Day—and any day! Make this Mother’s Day card that says “Owl always love you!”

Supplies

Paper plate
Brown, yellow, and orange colored pencils or crayons
Black, orange, and red markers

celebrate-picture-books-picture-book-review-paper-plate-owl-open

Directions

Fold the sides of the plate in toward the center, overlapping one on the other a little
Trim the top and bottom of each folded half-circle to make room for a head and tail
Draw eyes and a beak just above the round center of the plate
Outline the eyes in back marker and add pupils
Draw and color a beak with the orange marker
Color the back and front of the plate with brown, yellow, and orange colored pencils or crayons
Write “I Love You” or whatever you would like to say to your mom in the center of the plate
Fold the wings closed

Give your mom your card along with a hug!

Picture Book Review

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