All the Places to Love

"Often and often afterwards, the beloved Aunt would ask me why I had never told anyone how I was being treated. Children tell little more than animals, for what comes to them they accept as eternally established."
-Rudyard Kipling





My first response to the above quote was that it alluded to abusive behavior but I think it is also deeper then that.
Kipling's words are powerful and wise. I think about the world I want my girls to know. I want their appreciation of nature "eternally established." So much joy in life is experienced in nature and from our interactions with it (including all the bugs and animals of course.)

All the Places to Love by Patricia Maclachlan with paintings by Mike Wimmer is a terrific example a child's connection to nature and family. Here is a synopsis by Chinaberry: All the places to love are the ones surrounding young Eli. On the day he is born, his grandmother holds him up to the window so that what he hears first is the wind, and what he sees first are the valleys, river and hilltop where blueberries grow, as his grandfather carves his name in the rafter of the barn, next to those of his grandparents and his parents. He will be lovingly shown the beauty and simple pleasure in his world, and will grow up knowing that no matter where life takes him, he will always think this is the best place because those who showed it to him, love him and these places more than anything else.
This is truly another wonderful picture book to have in your child's collection. BTW Patricia Maclachlan is also the co-author of, Once I Ate a Pie--13 Dogs Tell All. You can check out a review over at Charlotte's Library.

A parenting book I've enjoyed is Trees Make the Best Mobiles by Jessica Teich and Brandel France de Bravo. In a time of over scheduling and perhaps controlling our children's lives, their advice is warranted. "Infants, toddlers and teenagers share an important requirement: that parents be available but respectful, too. They want to know you are there, but not everywhere. Respect their need for secrets, for hiding places, for trust."