When Mama Grows With Me: A Picturebook Review and Giveaway

 Some of you may remember me reviewing Rebecca Wheeler's first picture book When Daddy Shows Me the Sky. Fast forward two years and the companion book, When Mama Grows With Me, is about to be launched into the world. I'm also proud to announce that Rebecca is my new co-publisher of Talking Story! (Hint: If you don't win her book from this blog, if you are a newsletter subscriber you'll have another chance in our October issue.) 

When Mama Grows With Me is once again illustrated by the lovely Katherine Jordan. Now that I've gotten to know Rebecca better, I understand how this picture book is a beautiful marriage of Rebecca's love for gardening and yoga.

REVIEW

The book begins with a child getting ready to plant a garden with his mother. The theme is introduced in the second paragraph: "Sometimes it's hard to wait, but waiting teaches me to be patient and helps my mind grow. Our plants do so much work before flowers appear. If the plants are patient, I can be too!"

The boy plants the seeds in little pots. He imagines the seeds waking up when he sprinkles them with water. "I pretend to be a seed and stretch my arms like roots in the earth."

After two weeks, sprouts appear. As he waits, the little boy shapes his body into a blossom.

The mother and son do an airplane pose as they pretend to be birds looking for something to eat. He has to wait patiently while the plants grow, so he watches frogs jump out of the water pitcher, and of course, imitates them. 

In late spring the seedlings are finally ready to be transplanted into the garden. He and his mother shape themselves into trees to provide shade in the afternoon for the new plants. 

In the summer, after the flowers blossom, the little boy and his mother wait for the pollinators. "Parents can learn a lot from pollinators," Mama says. "The insects focus on one flower at a time, rather than trying to do lots of things at once."

"I sit in the grass and imagine that my legs are wings. First, I point my knees up to the sky like butterfly wings and then I stretch them open like a sleepy moth."

In the fall, "we hide bulbs in the earth for next spring's flowers..."

"Just because we can't see them, doesn't mean the plants aren't growing on the inside," Mama says. 

"Just like people," I say. "When we wait, we grow on the inside."

"That's right," Mama whispers. "Waiting is growing."

I smile because I know in all seasons, Mama grows with me.

                                                    ****

This child's voice in this informative and lyrical picture book makes it kid-friendly for early elementary students. I picture a classroom of kindergarteners learning about pollination and doing the butterfly pose on the floor of their classroom! In the back of the book, Rebecca's daughter demonstrates the yoga poses.

REMEMBER!

Pre-orders help authors. Rebecca's book debuts on September 19 so if you're interested in this title (think: Christmas is coming soon! Get a copy for your child's teacher or for your yoga instructor!). So go ahead and order it now. She'll appreciate that! 

VIDEO and PODCAST

Did I say that Rebecca loves flowers and yoga? Check out this video on how to save zinnia seeds!

Here's a recent interview that Rebecca did on Thriving Authors Podcast.

GIVEAWAY

To enter the giveaway, please leave a comment (with your email address if you are new to my blog) by September 14. If you prefer, you can email me to enter. U.S. postal addresses only. If you are an educator or librarian, you get two chances--just let me know in the comments.

Congratulations to Georgie Bartlett who won an Ebook of Elanor and the Song of the Bard and to Valinora Troy and Nathan Keys who won Ebook copies of The Conjurer's Curse from last week's blog. 

AIR: A MIDDLE GRADE REVIEW AND GIVEAWAY-- PART I

I am thrilled to share with you my friend Monica Roe's, upcoming novel, Air (Farrar Straus Giroux Books for Young Readers, March 15, 2022). Today you are going to hear about a book that her publisher describes as,

"a smart, energetic middle grade debut about thinking big, working hard, and taking flight."

On Thursday you'll get a glimpse behind the scenes in my interview with Monica. She'll share the book's backstory and her road to publication.

But for now, sit back and enjoy hearing about a book that I hope, will fly off the bookshelves.

                                    (Is this an amazing cover, or what?)

REVIEW

From the second page of this book for boys and girls, the reader hears voice, courage, and a good dose of Southern chutzpah, and a touch of sadness. The main character, Emmie, and her best friend, Ale, are setting her up for a launch off of the wheelchair ramp her father built.  As they prepare she thinks, 

"We [her father and her] used to be out here together, instead of me having to sneak around." 

I read that sentence and thought, "What happened to change things?" 

What a great way to insert backstory to make the reader keep going! 

The internalization continues:

I pull on my padded gloves, bring my front wheels to the edge, and breathe. The view from the top of a drop--even a basic one like this--gets me going every time. Those tadpoles swimming in my chest and the sweat on my palms are the best kind of rush. Now that added jump waiting at the bottom makes my guts fizz like I ate a handful of live bees and chased them with a bottle of Coke.

Right. Let's do this. (p. 4)

A few pages later the chapter ends with:

I'm Emelyn Ethridge. I'm twelve-and-a-half years old. Alejandra Che is my best friend.

I like Flamain' Hot Cheetos.

And I love speed. (p.8)

As a reader, I'm hooked. And I won't let go until I find out what this daring young wheelchair athlete is going to do.

As speedy as Emmie herself, this book moves. The author doesn't take much space on the page to let the reader know, "Baby Emmie's spinal cord left the factory with a design glitch." Her parents "never let me get away with acting like I was some miracle for getting out of bed...They put me on wheels, had me popping curbs by the time I was six." (p. 19-20)

Early on the reader discovers that her mom recently died and her father  has changed--he doesn't seem to believe in her anymore. "He was my biggest cheerleader--my partner in high-speed mischief. Since Mom's been gone, he's so...different. Cautious. Scared even. (p. 22) Her father's work, night classes, and overtime hours don't give them the time together she wants. 

I admire the way in which Monica uses deep point-of-view to show who Emmie is and what she wants. For example, when she witnesses an argument between her father and Nonny, her maternal grandmother, she thinks:

Sometimes I think it's too bad Dad and Nonny don't have wheels, too. Moving fast is the best way I know to keep ahead of feelings you'd rather shake off. (p. 34)

When she dresses up and attends a fairy festival with Ale, she observes:

Nobody's paying us any mind. One thing I love about the festival is that pretty much nobody pays attention to my chair. It's almost like it's a part of my costume--like those people riding in the wooden troll wagon or bounding around on their spring-loaded stilts while telling fortunes. Everyone blends right in. (p. 101)

Without knocking the reader over the head and telling her that Emmie wants to be treated like a kid--not a person with a disability--Monica shows it. This theme is deeply embedded in Air and is crucial to the ending which I didn't foresee. Afterwards, I realized it is a perfect conclusion to a story where the character reaches both her internal and external goals. 

In addition to a well-developed character, Monica includes some terrific secondary characters who contribute mightily to the plot. There's a budding romance with a cute, rodeo "prince" (with all the miscommunication that comes with a first-time crush); an annoying aide who is assigned to Emmie but who proves her worth as a friend; and a spit-firing Alaskan Granny who orders custom wheelchair bags from Emmie.  (I forgot to tell you--Emmie and Ale have an online shop to raise money: Emmie craves a high-end, multi-link-suspension stunt chair and Ale is working towards getting a new hive. They sell bags that Emmie sews and natural stuff which they salvage from the South Carolina scrub between their houses).

Did I love this book? Guess that's obvious. Am I going to study it to see how Monica portrayed Emmie's voice so well? You bet.

Come back on Thursday and find out more about Monica and why she was in a unique position to write about a young person with a disability and why bees and Alaska found a perfect place in the world of Air. 

GIVEAWAY

You have THREE chances to enter this giveaway. Leave a comment here and you get one chance. Leave a comment on Thursday's author interview with Monica and you get a second chance. If you click here and discover how I met Monica and leave a comment there--your name goes in the hat three times! U.S. addresses only. Giveaway ends January 17th at 6PM. If you don't want to leave your email address, please email me and I'll enter your name. Make sure you leave your name and email address if you are new to my blog!

And if you don't win, I hope you consider purchasing this book for yourself, a young reader in your life, or a library. Pre-orders help authors!

Congratulations to Danielle Hammelef who won SEEKING FREEDOM.