Tales That Celebrate the Special Love of Mother's and Grandmother's on Mother's Day

    

One of the very first countries that set aside a day to honor mothers was England.  During the eighteenth century, many men and women worked as servants in rich households throughout the country.  "Mothering Sunday" began as a day reserved for these workers to return to their home to be with their mothers.
     On May 12, 1907, Anna Jarvis, the daughter of Anna Jarvis, who founded the Mothers' Day Work Clubs (which fought to improve the sanitary and health conditions that existed in her town.  Mrs. Jarvis firmly believed that these unsanitary conditions were a direct result of the high mortality rate of children in her area) held a memorial to honor her late mother.  A year later, Anna set out on a national campaign to make Mother's Day a recognized holiday.  Anna Jarvis succeeded in her mission in 1915, when Mother's Day became an official holiday in the United States.
     There is nothing more sweeter than to be able to celebrate Mother's Day than with a lovely snuggle with your special little ones, made even more sweeter by sharing a good book like some of these selections below.  They each celebrate mothers and grandmothers and honor the unique ties that bind us all together.
     Happy Mother's Day to you all!


The Berenstain Bears: We Love Our Mom!
     My family, like so many of yours, have been longtime fans of the lovable Berenstain Bears family collection of stories (okay, we'll I'll just come right out now and admit it--I love ANYTHING with bears!).  When my son was a baby, I cherished the times that we cuddled together on the living room couch or in my rocking chair at bedtime, reading so many of Jan and Stan Berenstain's bear family adventures. And, as a parent, I appreciated all of the morals and lesson's that my little boy learned along the way through reading their many lovable tales.
     Jan, and her son Mike Berenstain do not disappoint in this latest tale, where we find Brother, Sister and little Honey Bear are on the hunt for ideas for what they can do to honor their beloved Mama Bear on Mother's Day.  Your little readers will clearly see from the delightful and comforting illustrations just how truly selfless Mama Bear is, as she does everything to make her family of little (and big) cubs happy.  Flashbacks from the young cubs show Mama Bear tending to Brother's scraped knee; sewing popped buttons back on their shirts and always making their favorite, yummy, bear-shaped pancakes for breakfast.  When recalling all of these wonderful things that their Mama Bear does for them all each and every day, they soon realize that they just have to do something truly special for her, but they just don't know what to do.  And, just when you think that the bears will not be able to come up with anything, inspiration strikes while on a visit to their Grizzly Gran and Gramps house, and the creativity and the fun begins!
     An added bonus to this sweet book is the do-it-yourself, "My Mama's Book" where you and your children can create their very own scrapbook for their special moms just like Brother, Sister and Honey Bear did.

The Berenstain Bears:  We Love Our Mom!
Written & Illustrated by Jan Berenstain
Publisher: Harper Festival, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers
Website: www.harpercollinschildrens.com
ISBN: 9780062075475
Retails for $3.99 (Softcover)
For ages 4 thru 8
Accelerated Reader Book Level: 3.0


A Special Gift for Grammy
     Newbery Medal award-winning author Jean Craighead George wrote more than one hundred books for children and young adults during her long, esteemed career.  In her heartwarming picture book published after her death in 2012, A Special Gift for Grammy celebrates and truly captures the special relationship between a grandmother and her grandchild.
      After saying their goodbyes, Grammy notices a small pile of stones that Hunter, her grandson, collected and placed on her porch during his visit.  "What do I do with a pile of stone?", she asked Hunter.  "What everyone does with a pile of stones," he answered.  Grammy replies with a gentle and knowing, "Of course."  When Hunter departs, the stones are slowly noticed as the days go by from several people who pay his Grammy a visit.  The mail carrier, seeing a potential letter holder, picks up one of Hunter's stones and uses it as a weight to keep the mail from flying away in the steady, strong wind.  A little Brownie, on her way to deliver her cookie order to Grammy, picks up three of the stones from the pile and stacks them in a way so that her friends would know the right way to turn on their walk. 
     One by one, the stones are all put to good use, until Hunter returns to visit his Grammy.  He notices that only six stones remain in his pile.  And now, the tables are turned as Hunter does not know what to do with these six remaining stones until inspiration strikes.  He excitedly tells his Grammy that each of the stones represent something special to him---one reminds him of his baby shoe, while another resembles his rubber duck.  Grammy decides to take all of these special, "Hunter" stones and with some help, reworks the stones into a necklace for her to wear and to remember all of those special milestones in her grandson's life.

A Special Gift for Grammy
Written by Jean Craighead George & Illustrated by Steve Johnson & Lou Fancher
Publisher: Harper, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers
Website:www.harpercollinschildrens.com
ISBN: 978006053176
Retails for $17.99 (Hardcover)
For ages 4 thru 8