I love being a mom. What other role can bring you so many moments of love, joy, pride, laughter, inspiration, and motivation, while at the same time causing you to feel occasional moments of fear, frustration, sadness, anger, and exhaustion? Today, I'd like to focus on a couple of picture books that highlight the power and complexity of motherhood. Here's to all of you moms out there who could use a little reminder that what you are doing matters. You are making a difference just by being the best mom you can be.
Okay, so most of us do not have 7 children, but we all have times when we feel like we do! Green Guy and I love Mary Ann Hoberman's The Seven Silly Eaters. From the beautiful, rhyming flow of the words to the astounding illustrations, this picture book has it all. If you are the parent of a picky eater, you will especially like this book.
What I love about this book is that it shows you, rather than tells you, how many emotions a mother can feel. The first time you read this book, you might want to just look at the illustrations, because there is so much going on in them, and the facial expressions are priceless.
You know how you could be busy doing one thing, but your children will ignore that fact, and expect you to drop everything for something they have to have at that moment? This mother tries to meet the individual needs of all seven of her children (which, of course, is impossible), and she does it with love and exhaustion.
This mother tries so hard to please her family, but she is far from perfect (like the rest of us). She causes a lot of her own frustration by catering to their every want and need. Each of them will eat only one specific food. She makes homemade bread, lemonade and applesauce. No wonder this woman is exhausted! Her children do recognize that in the end, though, and work together to make a surprise birthday cake for her out of all of their preferred foods. The ingredients are actually relatively healthy when combined (much more healthy than on their own). I thought it was a perfect ending to an extremely enjoyable book.
This book provides you with a golden opportunity to discuss any of the following topics with your child:
1. It's not healthy to eat only one kind of food. You could use this book to teach your child how to pick the right foods. There are some great resources here and here.
2. Moms have many things to do, and they can't drop everything the moment their child wants something. Who knows, maybe your child will become more patient as a result.
3. Each mother is different. This mother stays at home (it would be kind of hard not to, with 7 kids!), but not all mothers do. Mothers are all busy, just in different ways.
4. The importance of helping others, including your mom. Children can lend a hand, even when they haven't been asked to. Random acts of kindness are contagious!
5. Children can be great problem solvers, especially if they work together.
I'd also like to recommend a children's book, by Mem Fox, called Koala Lou. If you have more than one child, this book will remind you how important it is to spend time alone with each of them on a regular basis. Many children grow up feeling like one of their siblings was the favorite, and this book reminds us how important it is to make each of our children feel special and loved. It's a very touching book, by a wonderful author. You can listen to Mem Fox read this story aloud here, and get some reading tips from her here.
I will be recommending more books by Mary Ann Hoberman and Mem Fox in the near future.There are certain authors whose books are always at a level above the rest. They have a way of leaving us with a warm feeling inside, and even help us to see the "big picture." I can't get enough of them!
Moms. Picture Books. A powerful combination!