Mother's Day 2023 Gift Guide: NF Kidlit

 

"Reading to children." by San José Public Library 
is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.

Many women who nurture children enjoy receiving children's books as gifts. I do!  I can keep them at home so that young visitors have reading material. Or I can take these books with me when visiting young readers.  I am not yet a grandmother, but many of my peers are. (I am in my sixties.)  Mother's Day can include 

• mothers
• bonus mothers (step-mothers and other partners of parents)
• grandmothers
• aunts and great aunts
• fictive kin family members. (I am an "auntie" or "grandmother" of sorts to friends' children)
• teachers
• librarians
• and MORE!  Many people nurture children. 

I was recently invited to judge the nonfiction category for the Cybil Awards.  I have only been a judge fore one year. I read 85+ nonfiction children's books that were published between October 1, 2022 and September 30, 2023. I loved many of them.  I am invited to continue, so I will probably do another gift guide, maybe in time for the holidays at the end of this year. 

This list from the 85 titles is not definitively "the best" of the lot.  Investigate for yourself. See my Goodreads list for all books that I read in 2022 (which includes more than just kidlit titles). It was hard to choose just eight books! 

Younger Elementary School Readers (or listeners)

Ford, Bernette G. with Ilustrator Frank Morrison.  Uncle John's City Garden. 

Bernette G. Ford writes a story inspired by true events. The main character of her book is a young girl who spends a summer helping her Uncle John maintain a garden plot in the city. The book provides an overview of the gardening basics: preparing the soil, planting seeds, watching things grow, harvesting, and sharing the yield with friends and family.  

The book's target audience is probably students in the lower elementary grades (K-3 or 5 to 8 year olds).  But adults can read this aloud to preschoolers, and older readers will find the project of urban gardening interesting. 

Frank Morrison's illustrations are rich and lush and show vibrancy and community in an urban area. Too many children watch TV shows that only depict Black neighborhoods and the projects as a site of decay and crime. The photos complement the story in showing a good work ethic and strong family ties. These are depictions that need more visibility.

Kaner, Etta with Illustrator June Steube. Dig, Dance, Dive: How Birds Move to Survive. 

The book dedicates two pages to describing an action that birds can perform.  For example: 

"Birds Twist. How far can you twist hour neck? Like many owls, a long-eared owl can turn its neck nearly 270 degrees in either direction. That's all most all the way around! Why does it do that? To see better." 

The accompanying illustration depicts a family of owls: three adults and four babies sitting on a tree. Some of the owls have their heads twisted--15 degrees, 45 degrees, 180 degrees from upright.

 

After highlighting an action per page, the book ends with smaller illustrations next to seven more actions: climb, dig, walk, run, dance, stalk, and dive.

My Source of Wisdom

 

Image: Emilio Labrador via
Creative Commons

I would like to think that I am growing wiser with each passing year.  Perhaps I am making better choices, exhibiting a better attitude, and showing greater compassion towards others. I do think this is the case some of the time. 

However, I do have to admit that the source of my wisdom does not stem from maturity. Instead I see that a lot of my wisdom is born out of fatigue. 

What do I mean? 

I will be in a situation where I have to make a decision. Am I going to be upset? Am I going to confront another person? Am I going to assert myself to achieve an ideal?  I begin to imagine all the physical and emotional work that will need to exert in order to get my way, and then I pivot. 

It will save me a lot of effort if I just learn to accept the situation at hand. I can adjust my attitude, which is also called "cognitive reframing." I can detach as the Buddhists advise: attachment leads to suffering. 

Now that I am in my sixties, I am seeing that I still have some character flaws, but I often just refrain from pushing for my preferences because it's just easier in the long run. 

Related: 

Quotes about Aging

Books on Aging, Wisdom, and Spirituality

A Boomer Named Karen

 

Photo by Oregon Dept of Transportation
via Creative Commons

Given the recent use of the name "Karen," I have taken to introducing myself as "Karen. . . but not THAT Karen." 

I am not describing myself as a victim for having this name. Instead, I take this cultural phenomenon as an opportunity to acknowledge the privilege that I have in my life as a white Boomer with a college education who enjoys relatively good health. 

I grew up in a middle class home. I enjoyed extra curricular activities, travel, access to a car, an allowance, and a college education. There are a lot of people who have not enjoyed these advantages.

Numbers Top - Friday Fashion

 

Consignment Shopping Find

I have been feeling a bit "blah" since my twentysomething children have made their Declarations of Independence.  I suppose this is giving me an identity crisis, which can lead to shopping.  

The post title includes "Friday Fashion," which implies I will do a fashion post once a week. To be honest, I will probably do a fashion post once a quarter, so that title is a bit misleading. 

While I do buy some things from retail stores (underwear, shoes, socks, jewelry), I buy most of my clothes from thrift shops or consignment shops.