My daughter made me a beautiful painting of a flower for Mother's Day this year. The painting is on one side and, on the other, is are two sets of her hand prints (green with paint) meant to be grass with a flower coming up and a photo of her in the center. It is truly a treasure I will keep forever. When Mouse presented it to me, it was wrapped in pink tissue paper. She blurted out a quick, "Happy Mother's Day!" and then proceeded to tell me she would open my present for me--which she did before she'd finished talking.
I know Mother's Day is not a happy day for everyone--and for those who are feeling sad today, know that I am thinking of you. For those of you who are celebrating the day, may you have a wonderful Mother's Day full of happy memories.
When we visited the library a couple weeks ago, Mouse went straight for the round bookshelf display and pulled a book off the top. It was That is NOT a Good Idea! by Mo Willems, which is about a fox and a duck. The fox asks the duck to go on a walk with him and they proceed to the fox's house. It's an adorable book with a twist at the end, which my daughter quite enjoyed. We read the book five times in one sitting before I finally convinced her we might want to try another book. We ending up checking out That is NOT a Good Idea! and bringing it home. I actually thought we wouldn't make it out of the library yesterday without renewing it, but, after two more readings while at the library, she handed it over to the librarian. The illustrations are bold in color and rather simple in design. They fit very well with the story and I think young children will enjoy this book.
On the music front, Mouse is obsessed with the CD Blue Moo, and I have to say I'm quite taken with it too. She received the CD from my 1950's music loving mother who could not resist some of her old favorites (B.B. King, Davy Jones, Brian Wilson, and the Pacemakers just to name a few) recording these fun songs. Sandra Boynton wrote the songs and Michael Ford composed them. The songs all have that '50's rock sound to them. Mouse has a few favorites including Singing in the Shower, The Nose, The Gorilla Song (called The Banana Song in our house), and The Uninvited Band. Whereas my favorites are Speed Turtle and Big Band Sound. Not a car ride goes by these days without Mouse asking us to play Singing in the Shower. She tolerated it when her father switched to a different CD one day, but a few days later when I popped Blue Moo in, Mouse was over the moon with glee.
I'm embedding the making of the book related to the CD. It is nearly 10 minutes long and has an ad in front. Check it out if you are interested and have the time. You'll get an idea of what some of the songs sound like.
© 2014, Wendy Runyon of Musings of a Bookish Kitty. All Rights Reserved. If you're reading this on a site other than Musings of a Bookish Kitty or Wendy's feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.
Happy Mother's Day to you! Blue Moo sounds like an album I would enjoy! lol
ReplyDeleteKathy - Happy Mother's Day to you too! It's a fun album. I was complaining to my husband the other day that when I turn on an oldies station today, they aren't playing the 50's and 60's music I grew up on thinking of as the oldies. I kind of miss it. While the CD isn't made up of those oldies, it feels kind of like I'm listening to them still. :-)
DeleteHappy Mother's Day! Mo Willems is great. Sounds like Mouse already has excellent taste in books! =D
ReplyDeleteMegan - Thank you! I'm trying to think if we have any Mo Willems books on our shelves, and I can't think of any. I came close to buying Mouse a copy of That is NOT a Good Idea!, but I had to remind myself I can't buy her everything she likes. She's spoiled enough as it is. And she can always borrow the library copy. :-)
DeleteHappy Mother's Day, Wendy!
ReplyDeleteThat is NOT a Good Idea! sounds like a book which my daughter will enjoy! Will have to check it out!
Hope you've a great week!
Melody - I hope you are able to find it, Melody. It's such a cute book!
DeleteHappy Belated Mom's Day -- I know Mouse made it special:)
ReplyDeleteDiane - Thank you! Same to you! Mouse treated me to breakfast out (we were lucky to beat the crowds). It was a fairly quiet day, but nice. :-)
DeleteWe LOVE That is Not a Good Idea! It's my favorite Willems so far. I like the sound way more than the CD of VeggieTales silly songs that the Tornado is obsessively listening to right now. I have Where is my Hairbrush permanently stuck in my head! Hope you had a lovely Mother's Day!
ReplyDeleteKatherine - It's such a fun book! I love the twist at the end. :-) Mouse hasn't experienced VeggieTales yet, but it's probably coming. LOL She knows almost all the Frozen songs by heart now, and it took me a moment to figure out why as she's only ever seen it once with us. Her teacher at school is obsessed with the movie, and I guess is always playing the soundtrack for them during the week, and the movie on Fridays at movie time. At least Mouse's favorite song isn't Let It Go. She prefers the Build a Snowman song.
DeleteWhat a lovely keepsake, I loved working with children of this age because though I'm not particularly good at crafts I did enjoy helping make these sort of things.
ReplyDeleteTracy - I love these personal homemade gifts. No one else might find value in the them, but to the parent receiving them, they are treasure. Like you, I'm not particularly good at crafts, but some look simple enough. Mouse's teacher was telling me that the children take such pride in their work at this age, and try so hard.
DeleteWhat a lovely gift! My three-year-old was very excited about Mother's Day this year. It was so cute. I also appreciate your mention of people for whom it is not a happy day. I found myself thinking a lot about a mother who lost her son almost two years ago. He would've turned my age on Mother's Day this year. I can't even imagine how difficult the day was for her.
ReplyDeleteA.M.B. - Mouse was excited about the day too. :-) I hope you had a good one!
DeleteI am so sorry for your friend. I can't even imagine. A friend of mine lost her father last week and I know this Mother's Day had to be especially sad, not only because of that, but because she had also lost her mother two years ago. I'm sure the loss felt extra strong this year.
So wonderful that your little Mouse loves books so much!
ReplyDeleteLisa - I think so too! :-)
DeleteHappy belated Mother's Day :) Those sweet homemade gifts from the kiddies are always the best.
ReplyDeleteThat is NOT a Good Idea! sounds cute!
Naida - Thank you. :-) I love the homemade gifts! They really are the best.
DeleteIt really is a cute book. I am still tempted to buy a copy, but trying to cut way back on spending now that we need to replace my husband's car. Just found out how much it will cost to repair. Not worth it.
What a precious gift from Mouse! Definitely to be treasured forever.
ReplyDeleteUgh, I couldn't see the pics on my iPad. I'll have to remember to look on my computer later.
Darlene - She has a habit at school of wanting to play instead of doing the art projects. Her teacher is always asking her, "Don't you want to make something for your mom?" Then she'll take part in the activity.
DeleteThe Mother's Day crafts are the best aren't they? I received several this year and a few cards, all from his different activites. Fun day :) I like Mo Williams so I'll have to look for that book!
ReplyDeleteStacy - They are! I love it when she brings home her art projects--and they are always so creative!
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