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By Mom Unplugged, March 22, 2007 4:04 pm

We read this book every Easter and often at other times too. Country Bunny is an old book that still fascinates today’s children.

This book, first published in 1939, actually has a modern feminist message! It is an Easter tale of a Mommy cottontail-bunny (lucky mama to 21 children, poor Mama Bunny!) who is chosen, against all odds, to be one of the five Easter Bunnies. She beats out the fast boy jack rabbits, and handsome male white bunnies.

But that is just the beginning! The story continues with her adventures delivering eggs as an Easter Bunny, and some special magic shoes.

The illustrations, vaguely reminiscent of Margaret Wise-Brown, are sweet and in a style typical of older children’s books.

A major theme is that kindness is what counts in life. But what I really like best, is the all-important message that we moms can do anything!

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By Mom Unplugged, March 13, 2007 4:13 pm

Another wonderful book from author Beatrice Hollyer (see my post on her book Let’s Eat).

This book’s subtitle is: “A Day In The Life Of Children Around The World.” Numerous photographs and short captions record the days of children in eight very different countries (Australia, India, USA, Ghana, Vietnam, England, Brazil, and Russia). Each chapter is a different part of the day. The photos and description of what each child is doing at that time of day are all grouped together for easy comparison.

What fun it is to see how other children live, and to learn the important lesson that we are all basically the same!

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By Mom Unplugged, March 10, 2007 5:50 pm

I just finished reading this book to my son’s class, and I whole-heartedly recommend it!

Anatole is a Parisian mouse who decides it is wrong to be stealing scraps to eat from people’s houses and decides to earn his cheese by being an anonymous cheese taster at the local cheese factory. The story and illustrations are so cute that children today enjoy this book as much as they did in the 1950′s when it was first published.

A Caldecott Honor Book.

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By Mom Unplugged, March 8, 2007 8:50 pm

My children sit captivated by this innocent Swedish story of the adventures of two acorn brothers who fly off on an oak leaf and encounter angry gnomes and trolls, as well as playful chestnut children.

First published in 1939, it is a gentle tale which reminds me very much of The Story of the Root-Children (Sibylle Von Olfers) in its simplicity and language (please see my post on the “Root Children”). The wonderful illustrations are also similar in some ways to those of Sibylle Von Olfers.

This magical book makes everyone feel good!

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By Mom Unplugged, March 5, 2007 9:01 pm

This sweet board book reminds me of a simpler version of Because Brian Hugged His Mother, a version aimed at even younger children. This teaches the littlest ones in the simplest way, that “what goes around,comes around.”

We follow a kiss as it travels from a girl, to her cat, to a cow, to many other animals, and then eventually back to the cat and then the girl. In the end, “you’ll have your love and kisses back!”