When Winter Comes Knocking: A Story For Small Bear by Alice B. McGinty

 

WHEN A LATE AUTUMN WIND SWIRLED INTO THE DEN AFTER NOONTIME NAP, SMALL BEAR SHIVERED. Brrrrr!

"I SMELL FROST," SAID MAMA. "TONIGHT WE START OUR WINTER SLUMBER."

This comes as news to Small Bear. And she begins to worry, snuggling up to Mama to ask an important question.

"WILL YOU TELL ME STORIES BEFORE WE SLEEP?"

Mama Bear assured Small Bear that there will be time for stories IF she doesn't dilly dally in getting ready for hibernation.

Small Bear agrees, but it's hard to say goodnight when the sun is rising in the sky and her favorite hole in the Spruce is so comfy to climb into and it's so much fun to climb high in the fragrant branches. But she remembers what Mama said and collect spruce twigs to make a warm bed in their den. She joins Mama as they shimmy and shake off the dirt from their fur in the pond, its waters warmed by the midday sun. It's hard to resist spending the afternoon eating the acorns under the oak tree and the extra fat acorns that are still waiting for nibbling in the top branches.

The forest is filled with food and fun. But Small Bear must not dilly-dally! The sun seems to be setting. And where is Mama now?

"MAMA!?!"

Small Bear hurries back to find Mama, and inside their den their fresh-smelling bedding is waiting.

"STORIES?"

Hibernation means a long bedtime and lots of stories, beginning with...

"ONCE UPON A TIME THERE WAS A SMALL BEAR WHO LOVED TO DILLY DALLY...."

And we all know what happens after hibernation, but Small Bear will have to wait for that one, in A Story for Small Bear (Schwartz & Wade, 2020). McGinty's storytelling is sweet and lovely, as are Richard Jone's soft-hued illustrations of a loving mother and a child who longs to play and to please. Hibernation means a long bedtime, but we, dear readers, know that story will end with the joys of springtime to come.

"... Forest scenes play out, together with McGinty’s expert prose and pacing.” says Publishers Weekly's starred review.

Mothering: You Made Me A Mother by Laurenne Sala

I ate lots of spinach.

I sang to you.

I was nervous.

I wasn't sure I was ready.

The nursery is readied. Dad has helped put the crib together. A little lavender patchwork elephant has been delivered. But as first-time moms know, no one is ready for a new baby.

And then you were here.

I rocked you. I fed you.

I realized I would spend my life trying to make you happy.

How does anyone become a mother? How does anyone become a parent?

Laurenne Sala's You Made Me a Mother (Harper, 2016), shares the premise that making a mom is a partnership, that moms are made, not born, in the process of childraising. Sala's mother giggles with her baby and splashes in their little plastic pool. She attempts to soothe bedtime toddler tantrums and deals with the inevitable wakie-wakies in the middle of the night. Together they ride a big purple elephant on the carousel at the park. They read on the window seat, splash through rain puddles in their raincoats, and walk barefoot down the beach together, hand in hand... until that poignant moment when the little one lets go and runs ahead.

I made you, but you made me a mother

And I'd do it all over again.

Somehow author Sala manages to sum up the story of mothering in a simple text, one that is sweet but not saccharine, one that shows both memorable high and low points of parenting, but manages an altogether moving narrative. Sala's story is happily paired with the charming pastel-toned illustrations of Robin Preiss Glaser, the skillful creator of the Clancy family of Fancy Nancy fame, who crafts a cozy, loving home in which mother and child grow together. A great salute to Mothers Day for expectant mothers--and mothers and grandmothers of all ages. "Motherhood has rarely been summed up so succinctly or so well," says Kirkus in their starred review.