I'm on a kick....

and it's involving children's literature about, say it with me...Alaska...sounds lovely doesn't it? It is. It is. Our bff's live in the lovely town of Palmer, home of the GIANT vegetables and the Alaska State Fair.



Also very close to Hatcher Pass, where yesterday's photo was taken. We may be in Tennessee, but right now our hearts belong to Palmer, as we heard that our friend's mother (who lives in the lower 48) is very very ill, like Stage 4 ill. Gary grew up with Rob (literally, they lived a street over and have known each other since they were in preschool)...and therefore he has known Rob's mom forever too. This incredible woman raised four of the coolest kids (now adults) I have ever known...this family is smart, kind, and noble. So today's review, which originally was going to encompass a few books related to/about Alaska, now just involves one. A really sweet book that my Alaskan friends sent down to us for a Christmas present for Xander a while back...

Mama, Do you Love Me? - Barbara Joosse

This is a colorful, calm, enchanting little book for kids. An inquisitive little girl asks her mother, "Mama, Would you love me if....I ran away and lived with wolves...slept in a cave?...turned into a walrus...put lemmings in your mukluks?"...Mama quietly reassures her that no matter what, she would of course love her...The images by one of my favorite illustrators, Barbara Lavallee, are colorful, fun, and totally Alaskan...many people don't realize how much color lies underneath the snow in the winter...and when spring and summer and fall emerge...the place is like a living, breathing, ever-moving glacial blue, green, gold, purple fireweed oil painting. You have no idea (unless you've been there, of course)...
The simple paintings and cheerful prose are perfect for kids who are in that 'testing boundaries' stage, which means any child from age 1 to 56.
A favorite verse?

"What if I ran away?

Then I would be worried.

What if I stayed away and sang with the wolves and slept in a cave?

Then, Dear One, I would be very sad. But still, I would love you."

The most sparkly of all are the starry skies on that particular passage...Alaska is full of starry skies.

I usually don't bring personal things into this blog, as it's an outlet for my love of children's literature, but not today. Today I ask, whether you pray, or contemplate, or just hope, to hope a bit for our dear friend Rob's mother...she's a wonderful lady, and we want her with us here on this glittering Earth as long as we can have her.