Monday, July 30, 2007

Children's Book Monday

Home.

Scents, sounds, safety; all swirling together to remind us of home. Where we can love and be loved.

Under the Moon
by Joanne Ryder
Illustrated by Cheryl Harness

Mama Mouse leads her youngest mouse from place to place, teaching her important lessons one moonlit evening.

Where to find the fattest seeds and sweetest berries.

The safe, tiny places to hide when owl flies by.


And when it is time to go home, Mama helps her little one to remember... where it is...what it smells like...the sounds she remembers...how it feels.

On the way, there are hard lessons to learn, as they come across places where it is not safe for a young mouse to be, and discovering that the ground is not always soft and comforting, but sometimes sharp and hard.

And soon, Little Mouse rediscovers why home is such a special place.

This book is written more for three and four year olds, but my little ones, nineteen months through eight years old, love it just as much!

And as Corban reminds me daily while I am packing up our home here and preparing for another far away...
"Wherever you and Daddy and Micah and Eliana are, well, that's home to me!"

Joanne Ryder has written many books with nature as their backdrop. This one and When the Woods Hum are our favorites - wonderful inspiration for nature walks! Grab your notebooks and pens, some water and your imagination - off you go!

Happy Reading!

8 fellow travelers shared:

Andrea said...

mine's up!!

Joyful Days said...

Sounds just lovely. To quote the cliche, "Home is where the heart is." We will have to look for that.

Blessings,

Julie

Melissa Stover said...

didn't you review mailing may once? i think it was one of yours. we got it at the library and loved it.what a sweet book. my kids loved that it was a true story!

Anonymous said...

This sounds like another wonderful book. Where do you learn about all these books? From the library? I really appreciate your reviews each week. :)
~Anna

TheNormalMiddle said...

Elise, I just want you to know I always enjoy Mondays checking your blog---I am such a bibliophile and you always leave me with another title to request at the library if we don't already own it! :)

Just wanted to say "thanks" friend!

Beverly said...

What a lovely sounding book! I was so touched by what Corban said about what home means to him. It makes being a momma worth it, does it not?

Anonymous said...

Corban's response is so sweet! Thanks for doing all of these book reviews and introducing our family to some new books!

Maxine said...

I don't know why, but this sounds like a book that would get me all teary. In fact, I got all teary over the little bit you wrote here. Especially when the mama taught her little one that the "ground is not always soft and comforting" out there. We can all pray that our children will view home as Corban does. What a precious statement. May home always be a safe refuge to our children.

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