Winner of the 2011 Pure Belpre Award for fiction
From the time he is a young boy, Neftali hears the call of a mysterious voice. He knows he must follow it–even when the neighborhood children taunt him, and when his harsh, authoritarian father ridicules him, and when he doubts himself. It leads him under the canopy of the lush rain forest, into the fearsome sea, and through the persistent Chilean rain, until finally, he discovers its source.
Combining elements of magical realism with biography, poetry, literary fiction, and sensorial, transporting illustrations, Pam Muñoz Ryan and Peter Sís take readers on a rare journey of the heart and imagination.
I know I MIGHT be a complete sap for children’s literature because I’m constantly falling in love, but I promise you, this one is special so bare with me…I have to get this all out.
If you’ve been following along on my adventures for a bit you may already know that I now volunteer as Raine’s school librarian due to funding shortages. On Friday, we received a stack of new award-winning books to put out for the students. Shiny new books!? I immediately reverted to my pre-teen self. I frantically skimmed and read dust jackets of as many books as I could, writing down titles so I wouldn’t forget to put them on my to-read list.
I nervously set out our new books for display, secretly hoping that they would be looked over so I would have more time with them. Librarian FAIL. Apparently I’m not mature enough to be a real librarian yet.
After the students went back to their classrooms I was so excited to be left with The Dreamer by Pam Munoz Ryan and beautifully illustrated by Peter Sis. I snatched it up for a quick weekend read and it was quick because I couldn’t put it down. I can’t believe I hadn’t heard about this book until I read it. I am so surprised that I have started asking around, and this is a book that librarians and teachers are afraid will slip through the cracks unnoticed. It has so much to give and is worth reading from around age 8 to 99.
It is based on the life of the Nobel Prize winning, Chilean poet, Pablo Neruda and it is like reading living poetry. I found it particularly nostalgic for someone who lived an introverted, thoughtful and almost painfully curious childhood. This book is touching and more than just a biography or historical fiction. The themes of friendship and overcoming fear to pursue your dreams, identity and perseverance, will speak to anyone.
Keep in mind; this is not an action packed novel. This is a thoughtful work of art, interwoven with poetry, imagination, fantasy, whimsy and illustrations…it’s just dreamy, gentle and honest.
Also of note, the format is unique. This book is heavy in hand, close to 400 pages long with large print that is double-spaced. I LOVED the format, it seemed to leave space for all my thoughts. The art work also flows seamlessly with poetry and content. It’s just a beautifully crafted in content and product.
I’m honestly really sad because I like holding on to this book, I don’t want to return it. At the same time, I am very excited to find the perfect student to share it with—so I guess I’ll act like an adult.
Please find a copy of this book as soon as possible, read it in a couple of hours and then comment here. I want to know what you think.
Amen.
It’s true. Recently we celebrated Raine’s half-birthday and all day long I kept thinking…”Has it really come to this? Are our children so spoiled that we now celebrate their HALF birthday’s?!” Obviously, I’m still very conflicted about the whole thing.
But it did serve a good purpose. Raine has a birthday at the end of summer before school starts, which is a killer when your one soul desire is to have a REAL party with all your school buddies and not just a lame family party. Until this last year, I have been able to convince her that family parties are so much better than friends parties! Only your family would dress up in medieval costumes pretend your the princess, and spend an entire evening dueling and jousting. Only your family would attend a girly tea party wearing mad hatter hats and offer you piles of presents!
But alas. She no longer buys it, and we don’t have the luxury of living close to family any more. Then to make matters worse, 6 months ago we told her that we would take her on a whale watching adventure for her b-day because she loves whales (and because she had no friends available during the summer for a party). To make a long story short, we didn’t follow through with the whale trip.
So due to parental guilt and the labored feeling of a birthday un-done, I threw this surprise Half-Birthday celebration together. Now it’s done.
I would say my favortie part of the day was surprising Raine, seeing the excitment on her face and all the giggling at the party. Our two low points, when the birthday girl cried and screamed (inevitable) and when I didn’t pay attention to Little Lime coming in and out of the kitchen eating all the sweets…until she puked.
Finish anything lately? Let me know and I’ll share your project next week!
Check out this FSIS Project by Aimee at Crafty Bug:
I live with two incredibly happy kids.
No, really, they are remarkably happy. Acquaintances unbelievingly point out their temperaments on a regular basis like it should be news to me, and I’m convinced they are either waiting for a meltdown, or they think that I just got very lucky. The most frequent reaction is the question, “Is she always this happy?” And the answer for both girls is, for the most part, yes.
But no one can really believe me until they spend regular amounts of time around one or both of the girls. With time comes disorientation, moments of bliss, back to confusion, followed by the inevitable accusation, “She really IS like this all the time…!?” Often accompanied by an accusing look in the eye and an unwavering determination to get answers.
It’s easy to smile and nod when someone first picks up on the girls, but the second reaction is harder to respond to. I often stumble to put together a response when someone gets pushy for answers. Why they are the way they are is not an easy question to answer. I suppose there is a little bit of personality, environment and parenting involved.
To be honest, I’m positive that it’s not the girls’ level of happiness that is striking. There are a lot of kids that are generally always happy. I believe the difference is their ability to easily bounce back from things, to regulate their emotions with coping skills, to entertain themselves for unreasonable amounts of time, their ability to self-soothe, etc. Everything just rolls off them and they keep on smiling.
They are very resilient children and resiliency= happy kid magic.
So with that background, I’ve had a few people in the last couple of years ask me to write about raising happy children. The idea is exciting but also humbling. As much as I love to toot my own horn, I know that their happiness is not wholly a result of our parenting or my clinical training. What I can say is that we are very intentional parents and listen carefully to our children who teach us constantly about what they need from us.
A few months ago I started writing. One of the girls’ biggest fans is about to start a family and demands information, and I love the idea of being able to pass on some tips to my sisters as they have children. A funny side note that I want to point out is that I am CONSTANTLY pitching book ideas to my inner circles, with no follow through. But this time around I’m taking an idea seriously because I believe in this Raising Happy Kids project of mine. I’m not sure if it will result in a book; I hope so, but in the meantime I thought it would be fun to post bits and pieces here on Mae Mae Daily in a parenting series.
Please keep in mind: my intention is not to come across preachy, only to provide a place to support one another in this parenthood thing. We all have different circumstances and parenting styles, but if you happen to read something here that inspires you and in turn, creates a little bit more peace in your family than I will be one happy blogger.
Please stay tuned. First post coming soon!
This little project took only an hour to finish, yet it’s been about 6 months since I gathered up all these dresses to be mended! It was as easy as re-enforcing some seams and patching the holes Raine had chewed through her dress fronts (a ridiculous hereditary habit she inherited from Husband). Glad they’re done so that I can return them to rotation and relish the extra space in my project bin.
Check out these FSIS Projects by Aimee at Crafty Bug:
I’ve been trying to read through the books in Raine’s school library, and it has been very rewarding. I love discovering new jewels and apparently, I missed the boat with Tomie DePaola when I was in elementary school! But I am pleased to have discovered him for the girls a few weeks ago. Tomie DePaola is a very talented author/illustrator who is well-known for his book Strega Nona. Any Strega Nona fans? It is a classic picture book that every child should have the opportunity to know well.
But I have to say, what made me really fall in love with Tomie DePaola were these two books. They both retell American Indian legends and both have incredible morals. The Legend of The Bluebonnet tells the story of the Texas Bluebonnet flower, a product of a little girl who had already suffered so much but who remained selfless and sacrificed greatly to save her people. The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush tells another flower legend, but of the Indian Paintbrush from Wyoming. In this tale, a young man dreams of becoming a warrior, but later finds that we all have different gifts of value that will lead us to our own important purpose.
Please read these books with your children. They are uplifting and beautiful. Tomie DePaola seems to have an infinite amount of picture books that I still have yet to read but these are great ones to start with! Please come back and tell me how it went!
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Welcome to Mae Mae Daily, I'm Mae Mae, visit the About page to read more about me and this site!
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