REVIEW
Rhythmic text, warm and colorful illustrations, and the appeal of cute baby animals will draw young readers to this book. Various mamas, both animal and human, are shown in activities with their offspring. Whether it is finding bamboo for a panda cub, a baby elephant spraying water from its trunk, or a child tiptoeing close to see a butterfly, each scene is vibrant and inviting. The mothers in the wild are busy making sure their young are fed, safe, and happy, just as the human mothers are. Penguins slip and slide on the ice, kangaroos and joeys jump about, babies play peekaboo or float rubber ducks in the tub, but they all have happy faces and contented mamas looking on.
The text also takes us through the various times of day, beginning with the dawn, twilight and even into the night with the moon aglow. Ruth Harper's illustrations capture the cool green of the bamboo forest, the frosty blues of the Antarctic ice, and the last shimmers of gold as the sunset fades away. She doesn't overly anthropomorphize the animals, but still shows the care and closeness of mothers and offspring.
For young readers who are fascinated with baby animals, parents looking for a good bedtime story, or teachers searching for a text to do a compare/contrast lesson, this title fits the bill. This would also make a good mentor text for a writing lesson with plenty of examples of alliteration and descriptive writing. Those looking for diversity in children's books will be pleased to see a variety of ethnic backgrounds pictured in the human families. Whatever use you find for it, this book is sure to please.
GIVEAWAY
Enter to win an autographed 6 picture book prize pack from acclaimed author Kathleen Pelley. The prize pack includes finger puppets, adorable stuffed animals, and Happy Mamas (illustrated by Ruth E. Harper, illustrator of the NY Times best seller The Kissing Hand).
One (1) grand prize winner receives:
- A set of 10 assorted adorable baby animal finger puppets and stuffed animals.
Value: $150.00+
Three (3) runner-up prize winners receive:
- A copy of Happy Mamas autographed by Kathleen Pelley
Value: $14.95
Giveaway begins October 10, 2016, at 12:01 A.M. PST and ends November 10, 2016, at 11:59 P.M. PST.
Giveaway open to US and Canadian addresses only.
Prizes and samples provided by Kathleen Pelley.
HAPPY MAMAS SYNOPSIS
Written by Kathleen Pelley
Illustrated by Ruth E. Harper
Mamas and babies everywhere will delight in this happy romp – a perfect ode to Motherhood. Perfect for one on one sharing or for use in the classroom. Ages 3-6 Ages 3-6 | CWLA Press | October 10, 2016 | 978-1587601606
Available Here:
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kathleen Pelley was born in Glasgow, Scotland, but spent most of her childhood summers playing on her grandparents’ farm in Ireland. Her passion for stories stemmed from listening to them on the radio during the BBC children’s story hour. Later, her gentle Irish father fanned the flame even more by feeding her his tales of fairies, leprechauns, and banshees.
So much did Kathleen love stories, that off she went to Edinburgh University and earned a degree in HiSTORY. She didn’t much care for all the facts and dates and numbers, but how she loved the stories of Rasputin, Napoleon, and Bonnie Prince Charlie! One character in particular captured Kathleen’s imagination—Florence Nightingale. After completing her degree, Kathleen studied to become a children’s nurse, but it was a brief and disastrous dalliance. For much as Kathleen loved children, she did not like to see them sick and suffering. However, decades later, Kathleen now sees herself as a kind of a nurse, because she believes that stories can heal the hurts in our hearts.
As a former elementary teacher, Kathleen enjoys sharing her passion with people of all ages. She has been a regular speaker at Regis University on “Nurturing a Passion for Stories,” makes frequent presentations at schools and conferences, and has been telling stories at an inner city elementary school for the past 20 years. She believes that one of the best ways to teach our children empathy is through stories that help them “walk a mile in another man’s moccasins.” When she’s not reading, writing, telling, or listening to stories, Kathleen enjoys knitting, Scottish music, and hiking with her husband and two Golden Retriever dogs along the trails of sunny Colorado.
OFFICIAL LINKS
ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATOR
Ruth is a self-taught English artist who fancies herself as a spiffy writer-in-the-making. She is the illustrator of #1 classic The Kissing Hand and Sassafras, and Happy Mamas is her 3rd book for CWLA. Powered by dark chocolate, she heartily knits stories together with letters, pencils and paintbrushes. She is often snatched up by breezes and colors and pint-sized things like rocks, leaves, shells, bugs, feathers, and creatures. You may also find her gardening, hiking, wildly dancing, and riding her bike really fast in an odd looking helmet. She now breathes easy in Iowa with an adorable husband, a dog, two cats, and six marvelous kids between them (with handfuls of grandbabies!). See her art at www.rutheharper.com.
The Fairview Review is participating in this blog tour in partnership with The Children’s Book Review and Kathleen Pelley. Use the campaign hashtag #HappyMamas and share the fun!
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