Out this September from the Children’s Book Press imprint of LEE & LOW, Maya’s Blanket/La manta de Maya puts a child-focused Latino spin on the traditional Yiddish folk song “Hob Ikh Mir a Mantl” (“I Had a Little Coat”) about a piece of fabric that is made into smaller and smaller items. We interviewed author Monica Brown about how she’s been inspired by the book.
1. What inspired you to write a children’s book based on the Yiddish folk song “Hob Ikh Mira Mantl”?
I’ve always loved the idea song, which is as much about creativity as it is about recycling and creating something from nothing. The song has inspired several books, in fact, and still inspires me. I often draw on my cultural heritage for inspiration, and Maya’s Blanket/La manta de Maya is no exception, paying homage to different aspects of my Jewish and Latina identity. It celebrates the two languages I speak, side by side on the page, along with a history of multigenerational storytelling passed down from both sides of my family.
I love the message of the song–that an object can be transformed again and again, and ultimately into something intangible and lasting through effort, creativity, and imagination. I like the idea that we can extend the life of things we love—with our own two hands or our imagination.
2. Did you have a favorite lullaby that your parents sang to you growing up? What about a lullaby that you sang to your daughters?
My mom sang me wonderful songs in Spanish. As a child I loved in particular Tengo una muñeca vestida de azul, which translates into I have a doll dressed in blue. When her granddaughter and namesake Isabella was born, my mother, Isabel Maria, made up a special song for her. It started with this line “Isabelita, Chiquita bonita de mi Corazon” and ended with “Corazon de melon!” It was a silly sweet line, but I’ve forgotten the lines in between, and now my mother is gone.
As a child, my only babysitters I knew were my tías and my Nana, my paternal grandmother, who taught me to embroider and sew. I stayed overnight at my Nana’s often and when I did, “the sandman” would visit us at night. For those who don’t know, the Sandman myth, which originates in Europe, is of a character who sprinkles sand on children’s eyes, bringing them happy dreams. My Scottish and Italian Nana would be sure the sandman visited each night. If I behaved just okay during the day the sandman would sprinkle regular sand on my forehead to help me fall asleep. If I was good, I would get silver sand, and if I was very, very good, I would get gold sand sprinkled on my forehead. I could feel the different types of sand as my Nana’s hands smoothed across my forehead, hair, and closed eyes.
3. Do you have an object today that’s your “Maya’s blanket,” i.e. that you are continually finding new uses for and don’t want to part with?
As an adult I have more of a subject than an object, and it is the subject of childhood memory. I think I became a children’s writer so I can go back and be in that moment of childhood innocence to remember what it feels like to be comforted by a beloved grandmother or my mother, to remember those minutes and hours, forever gone, of days spend with my Nana, who patiently taught me to embroider, and to sew and stitch or my mother, who shared story after story of her childhood in Northern Peru, and her dreams and her art.
I’ve never used an electric sewing machine, but thanks to my Nana I’ve still managed to stitch and mend and sew my daughter’s things—even a Halloween costume or two with those basic stitches my grandmother taught. I have my Nana’s sewing basket still, just as I am surrounded by my mother’s paintings each time I pick up a pen or open up my computer to write.
5. MAYA’S BLANKET provides an important message about recycling! Do you have any tips on how people can be more eco-friendly?
As a teacher, I always think the place to begin with is education and The Environmental Protection Agency has a website with lots of resources for children, parents, and especially teachers: http://www2.epa.gov/students. I also love that the Sierra Club has a student coalition for high school and college students that trains and connects young environmental activists: http://www.sierraclub.org/youth. Finally, well, I want to give a shout out to my fellow writers by highlighting Authors for Earth Day: http://www.authorsforearthday.org, a group that supports conservation through literacy.
It is my hope that children and the adults in their lives can become more aware and conscious of the challenges using our natural resources responsibly, and looking to for more creative solutions to persistent problems.
About the Book:
Maya’s Blanket/ La Manta de Maya
by Monica Brown, illustrated by David Diaz
Out September 2015
Ages 5-9 ~ 32 pp. ~ bilingual
Learn more about the book here.
I’d been wanting to do this for ages and finally tried it. There are lots of ways it’s been done—-most notably, of course, Japanese furoshiki. And there’s lots of ways I’d like to try making wrapping cloths, but this time, I just made a simple rolled hem on rectangles of fabric. Directions for “cheater” rolled hemming here. Thank you, Pinterest for that great tutorial via Meg of elsiemarley.com.
The Santa and angel fabrics are thrifted linens (already hemmed) from my favorite thrift shop in Hannover, Germany where we lived the last couple of years. And the new green and red stripey fabric is from Joann’s.
To wrap, I just folded the fabric and held it in place with the ribbon. Easy peasy. They wouldn’t hold up to a toddler’s inspection, but they’ll work fine for us.
Okay, in Saipan and the tropics in general not everyone wants warm or hot water, but some of us do like a hot shower.
And lots of people like to drink beer.
So now there is a way to get these people together! The beer-bottle-solar-water-heater.
It's all about re-using and recycling! Eco-friendly. What's not to love about this?
The Adventures of a Plastic Bottle: A Story About Recycling is a picture book in Little Simon's line of Little Green Books. The book is made from 100% postconsumer waste recycled paper.
I think the cover gives you a pretty good indication of what to expect. When your plastic bottle is smiling and waving at you, you know going into it that the book is going to be flirting with dinky.
What we've got is a diary from the point of view of what will be, what is, and what was a plastic bottle. Here is an entry from January 30th:
Hi-ho, Diary!
Today, was so fun! Being a bottle is great! I was clipped onto a BOTTLING LINE. Wheeeee! I flew down the line and went round and round and up and down. Along the way I was washed and STERILIZED. Then I was filled with fresh water! I even got a spiffy label. They're putting all of us bottles into boxes now. I can hardly wait to see the rest of the world! More adventure awaits me...
With words like hi-ho and spiffy (just to name a few) you can clearly see this one is proud to be dinky. However, I will say this. It was informative. It was clear. I learned while reading the book. It may not have much to offer in entertainment, but it does offer readers user-friendly facts. And so it's not without value. So for what it is...a teaching tool...it's not bad at all.
© Becky Laney of Young Readers
So Little Simon of Simon & Schuster has a new line of books for young readers. The Little Green Books series. You can read the press release here. You can see all the lines in that series here.
Today I'll be highlighting two of their picture books. Both books are made from 100% recycled paper. And that's good and all. But...
I'm a big believer in stories. I'm a believer in good messages. But I'm not such a good believer in stories weighed down with good messages. In library school, you're taught (and wisely at that) to frown upon didactic reading materials. So, for example, there could be a message that you believe in--support--100% (or 90% of whatever) and still not want to see that message spun into a "story" for children. (If you ask me, if parents want their children to grow up green, then modeling green behavior is the first and most important way to convey that message. Not reading them "story" books about the subject.)
The fact that these two books in the series do not feature an author's name on the cover...says something in my opinion. These books are all message, little story. What story there is in the books is weak and flimsy.
The books in question: The Polar Bears' Home: A Story About Global Warming and I Can Save The Earth! One Little Monster Learns To Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle.
What does the text look like? Obvious and not-so-subtle messaging about humans' bad behavior and bad habits.
Max the Little Monster liked to fling candy wrappers. He left a trail of trash wherever he went. "Whee!" said Max. Max the Little Monster did not like to give away his old toys--even when he'd outgrown them. "Mine!" cried Max. Max the Little Monster like to overflow the sink...and the bathtub...and clog the toilet. "Hungry toilet!'" said Max. Max the Little Monster left the lights on and blared the TV--even when he wasn't in the room. "No big whoop," said Max.
But all this changes when Max experiences a black out which leads to a change of heart....and behavior.
With The Polar Bears' Home we've got a message-as-dialogue between father and daughter about the plight of the polar bear and the world at large due to global warming. It's very message-heavy. Even more so than the out-of-control monster who learns his lesson. There are better books out there about polar bears (ones with the author's name on the cover and everything) that include this subject within a larger context. So this one isn't all that great in my opinion.
Good message? Mostly. Good literature? Not really. Not the "quality" type you'd want to read with your littles unless you wanted to preach to them about reducing, reusing, and recycling. Goodnight Moon, Curious George, or Knuffle Bunny this is not.
Here is what I'd like to see. Good old regular stories about anything and everything being printed and published in an eco-friendly way. I'm all for publishers taking steps to go green. Using recycled paper, etc. But I'd like the stories printed on that paper to merit it.
© Becky Laney of Young Readers
So Little Simon of Simon & Schuster has a new line of books for young readers. The Little Green Books series. You can read the press release here. You can see all the lines in that series here.
Two of the books in the series are books for babies. Little Monkey and Little Panda. Yesterday, I reviewed Little Monkey. Today it is Little Panda's turn.
Meet Little Panda. Like Little Monkey, his packaging is made of 100% recycled materials, and the book itself is made from Polartec fleece which is made of 50% recycled materials. Again like Little Monkey, he is washable.
Simple text. Cute pictures. A short and sweet little book about friendship.
Roly-poly Little Panda
loves to eat bamboo.
He climbs up trees
with his friend Little Monkey, too.
© Becky Laney of Young Readers
So Little Simon of Simon & Schuster has a new line of books for young readers. The Little Green Books series. You can read the press release here. You can see all the lines in that series here.
Two of the books in the series are books for babies. Little Monkey and Little Panda. Up for review today, Little Monkey. Little Panda will have a turn tomorrow.
What makes "The Little Green Books" eco-friendly? The packaging is made of 100% recycled materials. And the book is made of 50% recycled materials. The book itself is fabric--Polartec fleece made with recycled material.
Little Monkey is soft and cuddly. The text is simple. It rhymes.
Singing, swinging Little Monkey
lives high above the ground.
Fast and spunky,
Little Monkey
makes a happy sound!
Overall, I liked it. I think it is baby friendly. It is washable. And I think little fingers and mouths will enjoy this hands-on book.
© Becky Laney of Young Readers
That is interesting, to bad that there was not a sketch for the connection to the bottles.
This "hot water" would have to be run through a mixer valve (hot/cold water valve) though as it would be very hot by itself.
That's very true. I had a solar water heater on my roof in Kagman, and the mixer valve got messed up. Boiling water!
Perhaps it's cooler in China?
You also have to be real careful about pressure and it seems those bottles would blow up pretty easily.