Hero Helpers

Months ago I entered a book giveaway contest on the site Writing and Illustrating https://kathytemean.wordpress.com. I was the happy winner chosen. The book was, Pippin Pals are Hero Helpers! by :Donna Marie.

When I read the blurb about the book, I knew it would be perfect to help my students, who are pre-k age, make some sense of why masks are needed now, the importance of thorough hand washing, and give them a window onto the concept of social distancing.

Just this past Friday, Pippin Pals are Hero Helpers! with Sam arrived in the mail. The author was kind enough to write a lovely inscription in the book acknowledging teachers as heroes too. I, as well as so many of my colleagues have found ourselves in difficult positions during these times. Although I can only speak for myself, I believe I’m not alone in appreciating the recognition.

There are eight diverse and inclusive versions of Pippin Pals are Hero Helpers! Each one depicts children following the guidelines of mask wearing, hand washing, and social distancing. By following those three necessities the children see themselves as hero helpers to the essential workers getting us through this pandemic. Essential workers are depicted in illustrations along with their titles which is another plus as my students have recently studied the topic of community helpers.

Available for download at PIPPINHEROHELPERS.COM are charts, signs and coloring pages encouraging the necessary protocols through fun illustrations with simple straightforward language.

Thank you :Donna Marie for creating this book validating children’s concerns and allowing them to see characters they can relate to face the challenges they find themselves going through.

My lesson plans for today include reading Pippin Pals are Hero Helpers! with Sam. I’m sure the story will get rave reviews.

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The Safe Return by Ashley Wheelock and Arwen Evans, illustrated by Abigail Gray Swartz

There were two entrants to my Chilren’s Book Review Lottery. This week I’ll be sharing with you my thoughts on The Safe Return by Ashley Wheelock and Arwen Evans, illustrated by Abigail Gray Swartz.

Through staccato text, The Safe Return brings readers along on a group bike ride in which they can feel the whoosh of the wind and the flap of handle bar streamers as feet kick, balance, roll, and peddle.

Sneakers pound the pavement like a chorus of drums; their rhythm broken by the drrring of a bicycle bell. The story feels and sounds like a typical bike ride with a group of friends, but like everything else today it’s far from what we used to, only a year ago, think of as typical.

The children practice bicycle safety by strapping on their bicycle helmets, safely stowing a much loved stuffed bunny in his own basket and riding with parental supervision. But then the safety measures we’ve had to accept and use on a daily basis since March of 2020 come into play.

The children all wear masks that cover their mouth and nose as does the bunny and throughout their ride they practice social distancing. When a bicycle mishap occurs social distancing is maintained and when the bunny is lost and emotions are high, it is still practiced and maintained. The Safe Return is a great book to read to children in order to demonstrate best practices in as natural a way as possible.

The illustrations of the book use both a warm and cool palette which matches the warmth of the friendly outing as well as the practical need for and safe use of Covid-19 safety protocols. The illustrator does a beautiful job of conveying emotion through the characters’ eyes and through their body language. As a teacher for the visually impaired blind, I often work with students to improve their scanning skills in order to locate hidden pictures within complex spreads and the illustrator has done that within the book too!

The active prose is blended with imagery. The phrase, kick, balance, roll sets the book’s journey in motion. The use of numbers within the book is great for practicing basic numerical and mathematical concepts with children and those numbers propel the forward motion of the story and the bicyclists. There’s also a basic physics lesson within the book, that kids and parents will relate to. The imagery which is sprinkled throughout the text conveys an awareness the riders have of the beauty, the community, the friendship, and love surrounding them, as well as the precautions they need to use to protect themselves and others. There is so much that readers will take away with them from reading this book even it’s title, The Safe Return holds a duality of meaning that I think its readers will enjoy.

Where are you going?

When the day doesn’t just take over, when your mind can wander over things you need to consider but have pushed aside for one reason or another, do you know where you’re going?

Photo by Ivars on Pexels.com

Do you contemplate your future path? Your present? Your past?

In the movie Moonstruck, Rose Castorini asks her husband, “Where you been?”
Cosmo answers. “I don’t know, Rose. I don’t know where I’ve been
or where I’m going. All right?”

I can relate. I think we all can, especially this year.

In Finding Nemo Dory says, “Keep Swimming, Just Keep Swimming.” Because of a short-term memory loss Dory doesn’t know where she’s been, but she knows she has a place she’s working toward getting to; every day she works towards getting closer and closer until eventually she gets to where she’s meant to be.

Another great line from Moonstruck occurs when Loretta goes to confession and the priest tells her with great expression,”Reflect on your life Loretta.” This made me think of the popular poem by Robert Frost.

The Road Not Taken

by Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Frost’s poem can seem to be about the need to choose a path that different, perhaps better, from another but that’s not the point of view of the poet as he writes, And both that morning equally lay, In leaves no step had trodden black. Frost, right there, tells us that one path was just as good as the other.

Photo by cottonbro on Pexels.com

It’s all up to you; follow the path that best suits. As Frost says, way leads on to way, which to me echoes Dory. “Swimming, swimming, just keep swimming.”

Enjoy the trip.

A Book Birthday!

It’s a day to celebrate. Cleo’s Big Ideas: Onward and Upward! has its book birthday today! This is the second book I’ve written about Cleopatra W. Darby and the second book about Cleo that Jennifer Ball has illustrated.

This has been a much anticipated sequel as it was finished prior to the beginning of the Covid-19 outbreak, and due to shut downs etc. it ‘s had to wait, wait, wait. But as of today, the waiting is over.

Hip-hip-hooray!

In this Cleo’s second book, it’s a start of the new school term at Humble Elementary. Cleo’s main worries are how, to get,Winston, her pet tortoise to go to school with her, and how she and Ms. Mason will get along. Ms. Mason, never a fan of Cleo’s ideas or inventions, has been assigned as Cleo’s teacher.

The term begins with excitement over the class mascot contest and the happenings on NASA TV, which the whole school is following. And just when Cleo thinks Winston might sweep the mascot contest, space junk is spotted heading straight for Humble Elementary.

Cleo wants to save the day, but she’s going to need a little help from Sara and Albert, her two best friends.

Will Cleo’s ideas be big enough to stop space junk? Winston knows but he’s not telling, not unless you speak tortoise.

If you would like to check out more about Cleo then click on the link for Cleo’s Big Ideas: Flattening the Curve!, a free ebook created by myself and put out by Eifrig Publishing.

This year has been a challenging time for children, so much of what they know has been upended and the level of stress they find themselves dealing with has increased. Through Cleo’s Big Ideas: Flattening the Curve!, its my hope children can be encouraged to come up with their own ideas, no matter the size, to help make a positive change in the world around. them.

Just as ripples spread out when a single pebble is dropped into water, the actions of individuals can have far-reaching effects.     

Dalai Lama

Read more: https://www.wiseoldsayings.com/ripple-quotes/#ixzz6TFm5ezj0

“Zowie! What an uber-iffic idea!”

Cleopatra W. Darby, illustrated by Jennifer Ball, is at work at another big idea

The title is exactly what Cleo and I thought when, in an effort to reach out to kids dealing with our changed and changing times Eifrig Publishing Company owner, Penny Smith Eifrig, inspired by one of her authors, Mark Isherwood, reached out to her authors about creating free ebook stories that would speak to the conditions and issues that children are presently dealing with. I and Cleopatra W. DArby, who’s in two books published by Eifrig publishing https://www.eifrigpublishing.com/ and who is illustrated by Jennifer Ball, were excited to answered the call.

Cleopatra W. Darby is into being “green”. She’s the queen of recycling, reusing and renewing. She has big ideas which many times involve inventions. In her Re-Act-Shack she takes thing-a-ma-jigs, whoosey-what-sis, doodads and what-cha-ma-call-its and turns them into kooky resourceful inventions. https://www.eifrigpublishing.com/products/copy-of-cleos-big-ideas-onward-and-upward

In the free ebook Cleo’s Big Ideas: Flattening the Curve, Cleo finds herself having a hard time coming up with big ideas once the Corona virus hits. She has small ideas like making a mini-mask for her pet tortoise Winston and medium size ideas like converting her haul-and-go to deliver groceries for a homebound neighbor. But it’s not until her friends, Ji Won, Sara, and Albert get involved that she sees a way to pull together small ideas and with everyone’s help make a big difference.

This ebook is meant to be an avenue through which kids can see their feelings, fears, concerns validated. Its my hope that this story will open up discussions between children and their parents that will assist children in coping with, and understanding the difficult issues that currently surround them.

For your free copy please visit https://www.eifrigpublishing.com/products/cleos-big-ideas-flattening-the-curve

Stay safe, stay well,

Jan