n b n
Mother’s
Day is nearly upon us. What better gifts to bestow upon her than books?
Motherhood evokes thoughts of families and bearing and raising children.
I've found one of the most amazing picture books celebrating the miracles of
babies.
"Baby
Unique", by David Ellwand, is
an oversized picture book full of beautiful photographs of babies. Mr. Ellwand
has captured the essence of the growing infant in a most ‘unique’ way. There
are pictures of footprints, tiny toes, gurgling mouths, sleeping eyes, smiling
faces, teary frowns and even baby clothes hanging up to dry.
This
remarkable photographer has joyously illustrated all that makes babies so very
special. The text that goes along with every page will have you re-reading again
and again. Even though the wonderful collection of quotes from various
celebrated people and new parents weren't written for the baby pictures, you
might think otherwise. Three sequential pictures of the same child peer out at
you showing her wide, bright eyes, cute little pug nose and small impish mouth.
Underneath, the text reads: “I think I see something deeper, more infinite,
more eternal than the ocean in the expression of the eyes of a little baby.” This
was written by Vincent Van Gogh.
Some
of the quotes are humorous and ring so true that I found myself smiling. Teresa
Bloomingdale writes, “If your baby is beautiful and perfect, never cries
and fusses, sleeps on schedule and burps on demand, an angel all the time,
you're the grandma.”
This
marvelous exploration of babyhood will surely have the mother in your life
embrace the book - and more than likely embrace you!
n b n
Now,
I'm going to change gears and discuss a book that children from 10 and up should
read because of the social value of its content.
Homelessness is a difficult situation for anyone to have to endure. But
it becomes much more complicated when it involves families. "The
Double Life of Zoe Flynn", by Janet Lee Carey, explores the
frustrations, humiliations and embarrassment that 6th grader, Zoe, is
about to face as the story begins.
The
first chapter creates the fulfilling image of Zoe’s life in her cherished
home. She loves her big, old house
where "...there were tons of places to hide". But, it’s not
long before her parents tell her that dad is having great difficulty finding a
job. Since their money is running
out, they need to move to the next state where he's heard that work is more
available. Zoe’s life suddenly falls apart! She loves her bedroom, her yard,
even the big old acacia tree. She'll
even have to leave her best friend who promised they would be close forever.
When
the family arrives in the new town where dad gets a job, the parents soon find
out that the down payment for rent is more than they have. So, the family ends
up living in their van. Zoe enters
the new school hiding the fact that she has no home.
When she forms a new friend, Ailya, life becomes very complicated for
her. Ailya frequently has Zoe over to her home after school and on weekends. But Zoe never invites her over to be with her family. How
will Zoe overcome this situation? Ailya is beginning to think that perhaps Zoe
is embarrassed to have her family meet a Muslim.