Penny Paperheart

"Sharing happiness one heart at a time" is the sweet message from the adorable Penny Paperheart.  Little Penny made her debut as a doodle on a greeting card for Hallmark, but is now a character in her own book Penny Paperheart that is followed by many "Hallmarkers" - apparently this is the term for people who shop frequently at Hallmark. Now you can find Penny merchandise, such as Penny Playsets, at all Hallmark stores as well as online that give a whole new feel to paper doll play.  Also on Hallmark's website are cute videos starring Penny and her friends as well as downloads that include coloring pages, finger puppets and paper hearts to share. Follow this link for some Penny Paperheart fun (the videos are about half way down the page)!

The book Penny Paperheart was left for Emmy a few months ago by the fairies who visit the little fairy houses that she makes around the house. Let me explain...Since we live in an apartment on the fifth floor, we don't have direct access to the outdoors, so collections of nature items can be found in Emmy's room.  These items are often made into little fairy houses that cannot be taken down until evidence of a fairy visit are found.  So, unbeknownst to her, I leave evidence of their existence. Sometimes I simply rearrange the little house, but other times I leave little trinkets hidden in her fairy houses.  Trinkets such as a pretty rock, a polished stone, an interesting seashell, a handwritten note or something a bit bigger like this book.  It brings me much joy that Emmy still believes in fairies and it is such a relief when the fairy house is put away and vacuuming can commence once more!

I must share the back story to Penny Paperheart, as stated at the end of the book, as it is one of friendship, collaboration and inspiration.

One day an artist named Terry Runyan drew a little doodle.  She gazed at the little gril she sketched and then began to noodle.  Isn't she cute?  Who could she be?  Terry continue to think, then showed her sketch to her talented friend whose name is Mary Fink. 

Mary thought Terry's charming sketch was oh so very sweet, so Mary designed the girl's paper town and when it was complete Terry and Mary thought to themselves, "It's time for her to be named" "Not just a name, she needs a story!" the two artists both exclaimed.

Andre du Broc is a writer friend.  Playing with words is his art.  When he saw their little sketch he squealed, "She's Penny Paperheart!" The three friends loved their paper girl and that love just grew and grew.  Penny Paperheart had a name but not a thing to do.

That's when their dear friend, Stacy Lamb, offered a bit of advice:  "She gives away her paper hearts - that's what makes Penny so nice!" And that's how four devoted friends all played a wonderful part in bringing to life a paper girl named Penny Paperheart.  

After our first reading of Penny Paperheart, Emmy went off and gathered art supplies and began making hearts with notes on them to share with family members, friends and the neighbors in our apartment building.  Emmy highly recommends this book to readers of all ages as she says, "Penny is so cute and when I read her story, I want to be kind to everyone."  We hope that you will have a chance to get to know Penny and spread kindness to those around you.  

The Sandwich Swap

I absolutely adore her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan! Yes, she's a Queen and yes, she's beautiful, but it's more than that. If I am going to admire someone, it's going to be for her acts of kindness, her compassion for others and her humanitarian efforts and not what she is wearing, who she is dating or what movie she recently starred in. Queen Rania is just this sort of person. With her emphasis on education for all and promotion of human welfare and social reform, she is the type of person that I strive to be and hope that Emmy will be too. Emmy has asked me on numerous occasions why she is here on Earth (not sure where this stems from...maybe her study of planets with her friends at school). I always tell her that she is here to love others and help whenever needed. I've said it so often that she will now tell me that her "purpose is to help all people." I applaud her for knowing her purpose and focusing on people and not things.

Finding books that help communicate the idea that we are all citizens of this wonderful world is not always easy. However, Queen Rania has written a book that celebrates our differences in a way that is easily understood by young children. Written along with Kelly DiPucchio , (check out this post on Kelly's Blog). The Sandwich Swap is a picture book based on Queen Rania's childhood experiences.

Emmy really enjoys this book! It has been taken off the shelf so often at our local book shop that we may be wearing out the pages! Here's a sneak peek at the beginning of this amazing book:

It all began with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich…and it ended with a hummus sandwich.

Salma and Lily were best friends at school.

They drew pictures together.

They played on the swings together.

They jumped rope together.

And they ate their lunches together.

But just what they ate was a little different.

Lily ate a peanut butter and jelly sandwich every day for lunch.

Salma ate a hummus and pita sandwich every day for lunch.

And although Lily never said it out loud, she thought Salma's sandwich looked weird and yucky. She felt terrible that her friend had to eat that icky chickpea paste every day. EW. Yuck.

And although Salma never said it out loud, she thought Lily's sandwich looked strange and gross. She felt just awful that her friend had to eat that gooey peanut paste every day. EW. Gross.

I for one love the use of this metaphor (lunch sandwiches) for the differences between two friends from different cultures and am delighted by how the two girls come up with a solution at the end of the story that not only unifies their friendship, but gives all the children the chance to celebrate their uniqueness! Even Emmy, who is not one to try new foods, asked to have hummus for lunch after our first reading.

Listen to her Majesty as she describes how "our differences can enrich our lives."

The Giant Hug

Hugs, hugs, hugs. Nothing is better than a special hug from someone who cares about you and this book celebrates this from the very first page all the way to the end.

The Giant Hug, written by Sandra Horning and illustrated by Valeri Gorbachev, is a cheerful and heartwarming tale of a pig named Owen who wants to send a hug to his Granny and a picture just will not do.

"I want to send a real hug. I'll give the mailman a hug

and ask him to send it to Granny."

Owen finds a lot of supportive mail carriers who help him to pass his giant hug from his hometown to his Granny's. Each postal worker provides a link in the hug passing chain from the local mail sorter to an airplane pilot to Granny's mail carrier. I absolutely love the way that Owen's hug creates such harmony and acts of kindness. Captain Johnson bellows, "Now isn't that a grand way to start the day!" as he receives a hug from a driver.

This book reminds me of a previous post where I wrote about What Can I Do Today which is a book that also focuses on how an act of kindness makes us all feel better. In addition to spreading warmth, this book gives a wonderful look at how the postal service works and Ms. Horning should know as her father worked at the post office for many, many years.

If you're not sure your's or your child's hug will make it through the mail system as Owen's did, check out Sandra's website for a printable certificate good for one giant hug! I'm sure anyone, especially grannies, would love to receive this certificate along with a photograph of you or your child with arms open wide.

"Please make the hug just as giant when you pass it on to the mailman," Owen said.

Hugs, especially a child's, are precious and instantly change your whole outlook for the better.

Here is Emmy hugging her Granny who we call Yaya.

Kindness

Finally - time to get back to Blogging about children's books. The extended break was due to our move from Texas to Massachusetts. I believe we are finally feeling settled in and ready to start our lives in New England. Now it's time to tackle the stack of books that I am looking forward to sharing with everyone!

First of all for all you parents and teachers out there - if you haven't read the book Parenting for a Peaceful World yet, I highly recommend it. This book brought an understanding of children that I just never recognized before. It made me stop and think about how I was parented and how my childhood experiences created the person/parent that I am today. What I found out is that I have a lot of work to do! This work has to do with ME - emotionally and spiritually. As this work is being done, my parenting style emerges as one that is much more emotionally connected to my child. To quote the author of this important piece of work, Robin Grille, "The way we bring up our children is what determines the kind of society we live in. Since the health of any society is dependent upon the emotional health of its children, children's wellbeing should be our top priority." To give you a brief overview of the work our society needs to continue to do, here's a video to view written by Robin Grille.



With that here are two books that you can share with your child to initiate conversations about the importance of treating others with kindness. We Are All Born Free contains the universal declaration of human rights adopted by the United Nations in 1948. Each of these rights, in simplified form by Amnesty International, is beautifully illustrated by 28 award winning illustrators from around the world. Emmy's favorite page is the one showing a classroom full of interesting characters, "We all have the right to make up our own minds, to think what we like, to say what we think, and to share our ideas with other people." Keep in mind that you do not have to read every one of the rights listed. Choose one or two to focus on and use them as a conversation starter. As Emmy would say, "Can we have a conversation?" By the way, royalties from the sale of this book go to Amnesty International.

If you're looking for a more subtle way to talk about treating others with kindness, try this book focused on good deeds. What Can I Do Today? is written by Allison Stoutland and illustrated by Cathy Hofner and shows a chain reaction of good deeds beginning with a lemonade stand and ending with a 'Happy Cake.' This would be a wonderful book to read to students of all ages at the beginning of the school year. A surprise is attached to the back cover - the recipe for happy cake as well as beautiful stationary to write a letter to a friend. We haven't tried the recipe yet, but it is on my list of things to do!

These three books are an inspiration to me to live my life with the utmost respect and kindness to others. This will serve as a model to Emmy as she continues to interact with others. I hope that you will feel inspired as well.

"The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched.
They must be felt with the heart."
Helen Keller