31 Days – Page 5 – Mia The Reader

Pilgrims or Indians?

Posted on October 11, 2013

We were at my mom’s house this morning, when it fully hit me that autumn is here. She had her fall decor out, and it looked beautiful. Maybe this doesn’t come as a surprise, but I have zero fall decor. Last year I framed my own little orange and black silhouette and called it done. This year, I’m hoping to do this waxing leaf craft from Memories on Clover Lane. I bought the wax for it last year (or the year before?), but the autumn leaves in our area haven’t been great the last few seasons. If we can find some good ones, we’ll go for it. Usually, though, I’m too busy lamenting the end of summer to think about putting up decorations that will have to come right down in just a few short weeks to make way for Christmas. But I feel more autumnal this year, so we’ll see what happens.

Besides my lack of autumnal celebration paraphernalia, something else was brought to my attention through Mom’s decorations. My four-year-old does not know who the Pilgrims are. When asked about the Pilgrim figurines on the kitchen table, she called them Indians. Gasp! This is no one’s fault but my own. The problem is I have a hard time approaching this subject. We talk about how Thanksgiving is a time to be thankful for all we have, but the history of it seems complicated. Maybe I’m projecting my adult views, but when you know how the Pilgrims’ descendants treated the Indians, and when you know how the white people’s diseases wiped out so many Indians, it feels kind of like a polished, feel good story to say, “This is the time when the Indians were kind to the Pilgrims and had a meal together.” The end.

Clearly, I need some books.

These are the Thanksgiving picture books on my to-read-with-the-kids list.

The Pilgrim's First Thanksgiving — The Pilgrim’s First Thanksgiving, Ann McGovern

Off to Plymouth Rock by Dandi Daley Mackall

Thanksgiving Is for Giving Thanks, Margaret Sutherland

That’s all I’ve come up with so far. It seems there is a shortage of quality books explaining Thanksgiving. Maybe I’m not the only one who has trouble distilling it into an easy explanation.

Tell me, what are your favorite children’s books for Thanksgiving?

This is Day 11 of the 31 Days of Picture Books series. To read the rest of the series, go here.

31 Days, Children's Books, Parenting

Finding Balance in Fairy Tale Frenzy

Posted on October 10, 2013

Children in our culture are exposed to fairy tales at a young age. Even for those of us who determine when our children are infants that we won’t flood their brains with Disney, it is a difficult resolution to stick to. For one thing, most young parents have good feelings towards the Disney movies they grew up watching. I know I loved Cinderella and Beauty and the Beast from the moment I was introduced to those films. Another difficulty is those dang princesses and talking cars are everywhere. Is there anywhere you can go without running into them? No, not even church, in our case. And even if you have decided to eschew all things Disney and have stuck to your guns, most of your children’s friends probably haven’t.

Maybe if you’re Amish, these difficulties all sound like lame excuses. Maybe they really are mere excuses because, yes, we have allowed our children to become Disney fans. We ourselves are casual Disney fans. I thoroughly enjoy Tangled and laugh heartily at The Emperor’s New Groove. In the last few weeks, we introduced our 2-year-old son to Cars. But I’d like to think we’re cautious and critical fans. One of my concerns amidst the Disney Princess craze is that I intentionally give our 4-year-old daughter, Ella, a good dose of what real womanhood looks like–you know, “This broom Is FOREVER, not just until you meet a guy” and that sort of hard hitting truth. Because the reality is, with or without Disney, fairy tales are hard to ignore. There’s a reason they’ve been around for centuries, and the reason isn’t the toy market. The reason is that they are appealing, generation after generation. For whatever reason, we are drawn to them and we delight in passing them on to our children.

So how can we help our children embrace the magic without buying into the (expensive) fairy tale culture? Believe me, I’m still trying to figure that out. One thing I have found useful is to own some good children’s fairy tale books. I think these books should be ones with beautiful illustrations that capture the imagination, but also tell the story in a meaningful way. I don’t think all stories should be morality stories, but most fairy tales are already set up that way. There are some pretty deep values to be found in fairy tales. Which books you choose will largely depend on your children’s age. My favorite book for little girls so far is Mary Engelbreit’s Fairy Tales: Twelve Timeless Treasures. I love how the characters in this book look like young maidens, not even close to the Barbie type heroines we often see (I’m looking at you, Jasmine and Ariel!). I also appreciate how several of the stories, such as The Little Mermaid, stick with the original endings. You see, Disney’s Ariel should not have been rewarded for selling her soul to a devilish creature or disregarding her father’s orders. Hans Christian Andersen would have been revolted! The Little Mermaid ends as sea foam in the original. In Engelbreit’s version, The Little Mermaid refuses to follow the dark path she has started on and sacrifices her future with her prince. In Engelbreit’s The Princess and the Frog, the prince and princess are children, and they become friends at the end of the story instead of spouses. Thank you for that shout out to friendship, Mrs. Engelbreit! As you can see, I’m a big fan of this book.

There are also other princess stories that haven’t become mainstream but hold just as much potential as the more popular ones. On Ella’s 4th birthday, we took her to see her ballet studio’s performance of This Is Love, an adaptation of Andersen’s The Wild Swans. We were spellbound by the way the ballet showed Eliza’s struggle with the wicked queen and then watched her suffering through what she knew was the way to redeem her sisters (brothers, in the original). The ballet version went into much added depth with the redemption story, and I loved it. The book version I love is illustrated by Susan Jeffers. I’d recommend it for older children, as it’s a bit graphic.

King Grisly-Beard is a Brothers Grimm tale and tells the story of a haughty princess who thinks she is above every suitor her father sends her way. Obviously, she must learn a lesson. Through her banishment from the princess life, she learns about humility and love and what really matters, and she also learns to appreciate the good things in life. Illustrated by Maurice Sendak, this book is a refreshing change from the usual fairy tale style.

And be sure to check out The Pigkeeper. I’d like to see anyone turn that into a Disney film.

Beyond the books, we still have work to do in helping our children embrace good and filter out what isn’t good in the seemingly innocent entertainment that surrounds them. For starters, we need to be there with them while they watch or read fairy tales. We as parents or loving adults in their lives need to be ready to answer questions and temper the magic with reality (just temper the magic though, not squash it). We need to teach them that hard work is valuable, whether there’s a prince waiting in the wings or not.

Ella wears princess dresses daily. I don’t think this is necessarily a bad thing. (And it’s adorable). Still, I’m struggling to find a balance for her. I know that children learn the most by example and that as long as I’m not treating myself like a princess, she probably won’t expect the royal treatment either. But I still feel uneasy about what is on a pedestal in my little girl’s world. So I’m trying to choose her entertainment carefully and searching for ways to point her to kindness and loving service as the ultimate goal. She’ll learn pretty quickly as she approaches adulthood that becoming a princess isn’t going to happen. My goal for her is that she will have already seen what is really valuable and those fairy tale riches won’t even be on her wishlist anymore.

I’d love to hear how you approach this with your children. Share your ideas in the comments. Thanks!

This is Day 10 in the 31 Days of Picture Books series. To read the rest of the posts, go here.

31 Days, Children's Books

Rags

Posted on October 9, 2013

Everyone should be outside frolicking around in glorious autumn, so I’ll make this short today.

Don’t you hate it when someone talks about the best, most wonderful, stellar book that’s old and impossible to find? They imply the best books are old ones and you start to feel like you’ll never get your hands on the real greatest books of all time. Well, that’s what I’m doing today. I can’t help it, because a beloved book around here is Rags. It’s about a shaggy dog who is huge but quite the gentle giant. He is adopted by a shopkeeper and his wife to defend their grocery store from burglars. The shopkeeper loves him, but his wife is quite disappointed by his affectionate and skittish character. Something happens that brings the fierce watchdog out of Rags and makes both the shopkeeper and his wife appreciate Rag’s loyal and loving nature. If you can get your hands on it, I highly recommend it. My husband loved it as a child and my kids love it now.

Do you have a favorite out of print book? Tell us about it so we can all be enraged that we can’t get our hands on it. ; -)

This is Day 9 of 31 Days of Picture Books. To see the rest of the series, go here. To read more great 31 Days series on the other blogs participating, go to The Nester.

31 Days, Children's Books

Introducing Young Children to Art Through Picture Books

Posted on October 8, 2013

I don’t have a strong background in art. I was raised in the pre-Baby Einstein days, after all. Before my college art history class, I could recognize a Monet or a variety of children’s book illustrators (Mercer Mayer, for instance), but that was my extent of art culture. As I raise my children now, I am in awe of the wee ones’ art knowledge. The other day, Ella told me she was drawing a picture that looked like van Gogh. Holy cow! That child came from me? I think it’s awesome that there are so many resources for bringing art and music into our children’s sphere of interest. Yes, a lot of the credit for our art knowledge goes to the T.V. show Little Einsteins, which we stumbled upon by accident in our library’s DVD collection. Now we don’t leave the library without one, and if we do, well, there’s always Youtube.

392176 There are some great books that have made my daughter fascinated by art, too. You’ve probably heard of the Fancy Nancy series by Jane O’Conner and illustrated by Robin Priess Glasser, but did you know that your child will talk to you about Jackson Pollock after reading Fancy Nancy, Aspiring Artist? Or that she will want to cut out shapes and make a picture like the ones by Henri Matisse? (true story). Our favorite book series on art is the Katie series by James Mayhew. It’s about a girl named Katie and her art museum adventures. Our favorite is Katie and the Impressionists, followed closely by Katie and the Spanish Princess. These books give readers a feel for a certain era or style in art. If you’re looking for books about specific painters, I’ve heard great things about the “Getting to Know The World’s Greatest Artists” series. The blog Mrs. Picasso’s Art Room has many more great ideas about books on artists.

I’m not set on force feeding art history to my children or anything. It’s something my oldest has become interested in, so I’m going with it. I think it’s fun and I can’t wait until she’s old enough to take really enjoy our city’s art museum. At this point, I’m doing my best to pick out fun children’s books with quality illustrations. I know quality art is often a matter of opinion, and I want my children to appreciate all kinds. But for now, I try to stay away from elaborate stick figures or those books that remind me of that TV show Rugrats.

We’re going to stick with Jessie Wilcox Smith, Tasha Tudor, Virginia Lee Burton, and other great artists and Caldecott Medal winners and nominees.

What are your thoughts on teaching art to your kids and art in children’s literature? This is a new topic for me, so I’d love some advice.

This is Day 8 in the series 31 Days of Picture Books. To see the rest of the posts, go here.

31 Days, Children's Books, Parenting

Grab Your Winter Coat Books

Posted on October 7, 2013

When I was eight years old, I was given a wool, London Fog, pea coat. I can’t remember who gave it to me now. It was black, with some dark magenta and teal threads woven through. My mom was very pleased that I received a Christmas gift that was so timely and well made. But I really hated that coat. It was heavy and bulky and too big. It was straight up and down with big buttons, and had no saving ruffles or frills. I wore it grudgingly for two winters. I felt it didn’t match anything and made me look like Randy in A Christmas Story . It was not the red coat or a blue coat or a beautiful purple coat I envisioned myself in. My parents (and whoever bought it in the first place) were right, though; it was a quality coat. I think I and each of my two sisters wore it for two winters apiece. And my youngest sister really liked it! Last time I saw it, it still looked nearly new. It’s probably in my parents’ attic, waiting to pounce on my daughter.

When I think of my favorite children’s books for winter, I realize that coats are a central theme. I start asking myself, “Why coats?” Here’s what I’ve come up with: A coat is a piece of clothing you wear on the outside–there’s no hiding it. A coat is something that nurtures you and keeps you warm. It’s a necessity in most climates. But the central importance of a winter coat being one you like is this: you only get one. Even in our culture of excess, most people only have one true winter coat. When you’re eight, it’s important that it’s a coat you actually want to wear.

I’ve been reading A New Coat for Anna to my children lately. Set in post World War II Germany, Anna’s mother barters a few of her family treasures as she and Anna walk through each step of making a new coat, from the sheep to the tailor. While I am not sure how Anna’s mother managed to hold on to her heirlooms through the actual war, unless she started out pretty well off, I do love this book. I smile at hearing my children say to each other as they play, “I have no money, but I will give you this apple if…”. Bartering is still a useful skill, right?

Another great book centered on a girl and her coat is The Purple Coat. This may be the source of my purple coat envy. In this book, Gabrielle decides to buck her usual trend of blue winter coats and asks instead for a deep purple one. Her grandfather and mother are unsure about this decisions. With some creativity, what unfurls is the perfect coat, inside and out.

Changes for Kit: A Winter Story (American Girls: Kit, #6) I was about six when American Girl dolls and their books hit the market, I was bedazzled by all of it. I saved up money for months to buy Kirsten, although my favorite books were the Molly series. I was so vain–I wanted what I thought was the prettiest doll. In all of those books, the coat is a central piece. I was out of the American Girl stage by the time Kit came into the family of characters, but I read them all the same, under the guise of reading to my youngest sister. Changes for Kit tells of her mother’s resourcefulness and Kit’s generosity, and it’s all centered on a coat. It’s a great book for kids who are just getting ready to have parents read aloud to them out of chapter books, because it still has a good many pictures and it includes a great lesson.

So bring out your winter coats, gather some winter coat books, and if at all possible, get your child a coat she’ll really like to wear.

This post is part of the 31 Days of Picture Book Series. To see the posts in the series, go here.