MAKE WAY FOR THESE SPRINGTIME DUCKLINGS!

When talk of Springtime and Easter Eggs comes up, children usually think of bunnies and baby chicks.  (Or, if you've read any of my recommended Ukrainian Pysanka books, a goose might come to mind.)  But let's not leave out the ducklings - here are three timeless tales...

The Golden Egg Book, by Margaret Wise Brown, with illustrations by Leonard Weisgard. (ages 2-6)

Once there was a little bunny. He was all alone. One day he found an egg. He could hear something moving inside the egg. What was it?

This "golden oldie" (1947) is a perfect read aloud for little ones, who will have fun trying to guess "what's inside":  An elephant? A mouse?  It ends up being a friend for the bunny: a little duck!

The charming vintage illustrations are a perfect pair with Margaret Wise Brown's classic and simple story.

Another classic springtime "duck tale" is The Ugly Duckling, by Hans Christian Andersen (1805-1875). Look for this adaptation, with old fashioned, warm watercolors by author/illustrator Jerry Pinkney (ages 4-8).  William Kilpatrick (Books That Build Character: A Guide to Teaching Your Child Moral Values Through Stories) says, "...to admit that it takes time for a child to grow into his or her true identity is far from cruel.  All children instinctively know that, before true maturity can be achieved, they must undergo some kind of rite of passage.  That is why most fairy tales deal with the theme of transformation and suffering...the ugly duckling must endure loneliness and rejection before he can grow up to be a beautiful white swan.  That is why the great child psychologist Bruno Bettelheim has called fairy tales 'wishes in disguise'."

Another endearing story (1941) is Make Way for Ducklings, written and illustrated by Robert McCloskey (for ages 4-8). This gently told tale of a father and mother duck, searching for a safe home (in the big city of Boston) to bring up their Mallard ducklings, is bound to connect with your child. I remember my own kids repeating all the ducklings' names with me:  "Jack, Kack, Lack, Mack, Nack, Ouack, Pack, and Quack".

Lots of landmarks in Boston are shown, often from a flying duck's-eye view. When we traveled with our children to Boston years ago, we went to Boston's Public Gardens and saw bronze statues of Mother Mallard and the 8 ducklings, as well as the Swan Boats mentioned in the book! (yes, you can still ride in them.)

What about baby geese?  You can read about all the "Gossie" books, by Olivier Dunrea, in my past post HERE. "Gossie is a gosling. A small, yellow gosling who likes to wear bright red boots. Every day."  Fun for Springtime reading as well!

BLUEBERRIES AND ICE CREAM

Well, I guess July is National Blueberry Month as well as National Ice Cream Month (and boy, do they taste yummy together!)  Did you know that ice cream dates dates back to the 2nd century B.C.? Alexander the Great liked snow and ice flavored with honey and nectar. (You can read more about the history of ice cream HERE.)

BLUEBERRIES aren't just good tasting, they're healthy...according to the North American Blueberry Council (yes, there is such an organization): out of 40 different fruits, juices and vegetables, the blueberry has the highest antioxidant level.  And just three and a half ounces of blueberries are equivalent to over 1700 International Units of vitamin E. (Find some snack recipes with blueberries HERE for kids).

And while you and your kids enjoy a bowl of ice cream (topped with blueberries of course!), take the opportunity to read them one of my favorite picture books, BLUEBERRIES FOR SAL by Robert McCloskey. Your children are bound to love his (now retro) illustrations and the "kerplunk, kerplunk" of the blueberries hitting the bottom of Sal's pail -- well, they're at the bottom until she eats them!

In the story, Sal and her mother decide to go out and search for blueberries at the same time as a mother bear and her cub. This story is sweetly and humorously told, as Sal and the cub wander off and absentmindedly trail behind the wrong mothers!

Don't worry - it all turns out okay in the end!

ROBERT McCLOSKEY: A SHY AUTHOR FROM SMALL-TOWN AMERICA

I just started a novel by Wendell Berry (thanks Corinne!) about a young boy in the 1940's who travels by himself on a bus to go visit his grandparents, who live about 10 miles away, in rural Ohio. He's looking back on this experience as an older man and nostalgically recalls: "It was as though a curtain had fallen on a stage and the credulous audience (I, that is to say) was now in a different world from the one I had waked up in only a short time ago. The world I was in now was an older one that had been in existence a long time, though it would last only a few more years. The time was about over when a boy traveling into the Port William community might be met by a team of mules and a wagon...I knew well at that time that the two worlds existed and that I lived in both...That the worlds were in mortal contention had never occurred to me. When in a few years one had entirely consumed the other, so that no place anywhere would ever again be satisfied to be what it was, I was surprised, and I am more surprised now by the rapidity of the change than I was then. In only a few years the world of pavement, speed, and universal dissatisfaction had extended itself into nearly every place and nearly every mind, and the old world of a mule team and wagon was simply gone, leaving behind it a scatter of less and less intelligible relics."

Robert McCloskey also wrote about this time era and he definitely explored the same rapidity of change in his children's books. Born in 1914, in a small Ohio town, McCloskey wrote and illustrated stories that reflect a simpler time. He often said he didn't know anything about children's literature. "I think in pictures," he said. "I fill in between pictures with words. My first book I wrote in order to have something to illustrate."

His first book, LENTIL (for ages 6-10), is about a boy in a small town in Ohio during the 1940's, who cannot sing (or even whistle), but learns to play a harmonica and saves the day when a grumpy old man tries to ruin the town's homecoming celebration. HOMER PRICE (for ages 6-10)is a collection of 6 stories, also about a small-town boy. In one of the stories, a crowd gathers to watch as shy Homer - who works at his uncle's coffee shop - turns out thousands of donuts from his uncle's newfangled automatic donut machine. The book is a funny, charming look at unhurried life in 1940's America as it slowly experiences the changes being brought about by modern machinery and ideas.

Another endearing story, this time set in the big city of Boston, is MAKE WAY FOR DUCKLINGS (for ages 4-8). This gently told tale of duck parents searching for a safe home to bring up their children, is bound to connect with your child (and they'll love memorizing all the ducklings names). Lots of landmarks in Boston are shown, often from a flying duck's-eye view. When we traveled with our children to Boston years ago, we went to Boston's Public Gardens and saw bronze statues of Mother Mallard and the 8 ducklings, as well as Swan Boats mentioned in the book! (yes, you can still ride in them.)

BLUEBERRIES FOR SAL, though, is my all time favorite McCloskey book! I loved the illustrations and the "kerplunk, kerplunk" of the blueberries hitting the bottom of Sal's pail (well, they're in the bottom until she eats them!) In the story, Sal and her mother are in search of blueberries at the same time as a mother bear and her cub. This story is sweetly and humorously told, as Sal and the cub wander off and absentmindedly trail behind the wrong mothers!

In this time, with all our rapid changes in technology and communication, I know you'll enjoy reading these stories with your children of a simpler, slower-paced life, where community, family, and responsibility are honored and cherished. (And you might also look into the book I'm reading, ANDY CATLETT, EARLY TRAVELS by Wendell Berry.)