Tera's Dawn

Tera's Dawn by Susan K. Schank and illustrated by Denise Seah is the story of a wild horse who is captured. Upon captivity, she discovers her mother in her new, domesticated home. She then devises a way to free them both, which is imminently important as her mother is getting old and is no longer useful as a plow horse. They succeed in escaping and return to the wild herd.

By the soft glow of the full moon, Tera and her mother galloped back toward the meadow that was their home. Passing the willow grove, Tera knew they would be back with the herd by morning. She thought about the last several months. She would not have been able to free her mother if she had not been captured.

As a child, I had a strong affinity for horses. My daughter has inherited this affinity, and Tera's Dawn speaks directly to these equine interests. I love the illustrations, and the story illuminates the love between a mother and daughter, no matter what the species.

My Mom Hugs Trees

I have to admit, I am a mom who hugs trees. There's even a black and white self-portrait of me hugging a cedar tree in my mother's house. Since before my children were born, I have hiked to a sacred yew tree on my land, hugged it, and said my prayers several times a week.

Sometimes my children join in, sometimes they just explore the yew grove. Last winter, my hugging yew tree fell over after a great snow fall. I still hug it, and it is still alive, but I must lean over to hug my tree now.

My daughter can definitely relate to My Mom Hugs Trees, written by Robyn Ringgold and illustrated by Vidya Vasudevan. This rhyming book is the story of a mother that not only hugs trees, but she talks to plants, rescues bugs instead of killing them, plants seeds from the fruit they eat, asks the flowers if she can pick them, etc. OK, she's a hippie!

After bedtime stories, Mom says good night to the moon and stars. "Good night, Moon. Good night, Stars. Thank you for your light from afar.

The only difference between the mom in this book and myself, is I do kill ticks, but my daughter hears me tell the dead ticks, "I hope you have an auspicious rebirth," as I dispose of them.

My Mom Hugs Trees is published by Solar Publishing.

Solar Publishing promotes cultural awareness, planetary responsibility and holistic living. We are an energetic combination of passion, creativity and a genuine interest in enhancing life on this planet.

We are committed to educating and uplifting youth so that they can live responsibly and be equipped to make conscious choices as they grow. Children are our future and Solar Publishing's focus is to nourish their minds and help them to feel connected to nature and diverse peoples in hopes that they understand themselves and their role on the planet.

Solar Publishing books are printed on wood-free or recycled paper. Through a
partnership with the organization Trees for the Future, a tree is planted for every book sold.

My Mom Hugs Trees is a delightful book, that may just inspire you to go hug a tree with your children. The illustrations are fun, and "You have to admit-jumping over bugs is kind of fun to do!"

This post originally appeared on Eco Child's Play.

Mbutu's Mangos

Mbutu's Mangos by Zaccai Free and illustrated by Vidya Vasudevan is another excellent book by Solar Publishing (see My Mom Hugs Trees). The story is a reflection of Zaccai's experiences living in Central America, in which he learned about "plants, people, and the simple life". Mbutu's Mangos also comes with a CD of Zaccai reading the story.

Mbutu loves mangos, just like my children. He notices that when the mangos are ripe, a lot of fruit is wasted rotting on the ground below the trees. He pledges to stop this waste and not let a single mango rot. I've had similar thoughts when I see the rotting apples below my fruit trees. Mbutu devises a "mango saver" by assembling fishing nets under the branches to catch the fruit before it hits the ground. His mango saver is a great success; however, the mangos begin to rot on the bottom of the net. Eventually, the mangos all fall on Mbutu's head when the net breaks, much to the laughter of my children when we read this story. Mbutu feels disappointed, until his father teaches him about the cycle of life:

Mbutu, that's part of life. A mango starts off as a seed, and then it builds up flesh and skin to attrachttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gift birds, animals, and people like us. We eat the sweet, juicy fruit and throw away the seed, which soon sprouts and becomes a new seedling. Some of the seedlings mature into new trees. We can't eat all the mangos, so some of them have to rot. After the flesh rots, the seed has a chance to become a new tree. See Mbutu, everything in life goes in a circle. The fruit must rot so a new tree can begin.

As I've mentioned before, I like supporting independent publishers of children's books. Not only do these companies have values, but they also give a voice to author's with important messages for children that might not get the attention of a large publisher. Solar Publishing's mission is

To enlighten the lives of others through various media designed to promote cultural awareness and inspire, educate, and uplift youth to live in harmony with themselves, the planet and its inhabitants.

This review originally appeared on .

Unicorn Races

Editor's note: The following review of Unicorn Races, written by Stephen J. Brooks and illustrated by Linda Crockett, was written by my six-year-old daughter. When we first received this book, she sat down immediately and read it cover to cover. She loved it so much, that I thought it appropriate she write this review. These are her words verbatim, and she did some of the typing, as well. This book is independently published by Purple Sky Publishing




Abigail's mom tucked her in bed, and Abigail waited until she had closed the door. She rose up from her bed and put on her favorite princess dress. Abigail looked out her window and climbed onto a unicorn named Lord William. They flew off to the Unicorn Races, and she didn't want anyone eating until the race is over. She called out, "Blue won the race!" I don't like the part when she leaves when the feast begins, because she should stay and eat. My favorite part is when the unicorn race starts, because there are unicorns that look like a rainbow everywhere.

My Daddy is a Pretzel

I love this book! Well, maybe I am a little biased, since I love yoga, but I think the simple text of this book intermixed with yoga poses is genius. Written by Baron Baptiste and illustrated by Sophie Fatus, My Daddy is a Pretzel: Yoga for Parents and Kids introduces some asanas in the context of a story.

The story begins with the typical primary school discussion of parental careers. As each child shares what their parent's job is, the main character refers to a yoga pose his/her dad does that relates to the occupation.

On the following page, the yoga pose is discussed and demonstrated step by step for children to try. The pages of My Daddy is a Pretzel alternate between the children sharing their parents' jobs and yoga poses.

Emmy says her daddy's a farmer. Sometimes my daddy is a plow.

The Plow Pose

Halasana

Like the plow that turns the soil over to make way for new growth, this pose teaches us that overturning old ways of seeing things sets the ground for inner growth. If we plow well, we can sow well, and then reap the rewards of what we have planted.

I like how this book focuses on the father as the yogi. I am not sure it matters, but in my experience, there are more woman that attend my yoga class. By keeping the gender of the main character of this book ambiguous and presenting the father as the yogi, I think this book promotes yoga amongst children of both sexes.

Yesterday, my three-year-old son joined me in my yoga practice. I laid out our lotuspad for him, and he began to flow through the vinyasas. It was so cute and hysterical as he flowed from down dog to plank position. Then he became fascinated with rolling up the mat and using my strap to hold it coiled. Today, the lotuspad is being used as a bowling alley!

This review originally appeared on Eco Child's Play.