Party Princess
Second in the Teach Your Children Well Series
by Vanita Braver, MD
Illustrated by Cary Pillo
Madison
and her best friend Emily are back. This time it is to celebrate
Madison's birthday. She wants to look like a princess on her special
day and gets into her mother's makeup. When she spills nail polish
on her favorite party dress and all over the bathroom counter, she
is found out by her mother who has come looking for her. Instead
of getting angry and yelling, Madison's mother cleans her up and
changes her dress.
Unlike
most children's picture books, Party Princess has more than
one issue within its pages. Though the pivotal incident is Madison's
using her mother's makeup without her permission, it also deals
with how her mother handles this situation and Madison's sadness
about not being a beautiful princess for her party. She drags unhappily
through her party. It isn't until she shares the beautiful doll
that Emily gives her that she really feels happy. This is when her
mother tells her about real beauty comes from the inside.
Though
the mother's response may seem idealistic, the author uses it a
as a role model for parents as well as Madison's lessons are for
children. In this case, the mother is quite human and doesn't want
to deal with the mess.
Party
Princess is the second in a nine-book series about moral development
called Teach Your Children Well. Author Vanita Braver is a child
psychologist and the mother of three daughters, including a set
of twins. She certainly knows how children behave and this series
provides moral lessons not only for the children who read the book
or are read to, but she offers parents ways in which to handle ordinary
problems of growing up.
I
really related to Madison in this book because I did the same thing
she did, only I spilled the nail polish on my mother's best dress
and then tried to get it off with polish remover! My mother, too,
was understanding. I did, however, appreciate Madison's mother's
response to the mess. "I don't want to think about it," she says.
And, that was the best answer she could give. It was Madison's birthday
and she wasn't even allowing Madison's misbehaving to spoil her
daughter's special day.
I
look forward to seeing what other scrapes Madison gets into. |
The
Book |
Child & Family Press |
April 2005 |
hardcover |
1-58760-038-2 |
Children, picture book - Age Group: 4-8 |
More
at Amazon.com |
Excerpt |
NOTE: |
The
Reviewer |
Janie
Franz |
|
NOTE:
Reviewer Janie Franz is the author of Freelance Writing:
It's a Business, Stupid!, Relaxation Techniques for
Children, Relaxation Techniques for Adults, co-author
of The Ultimate Wedding Reception Book Coming soon:
The Ultimate Wedding Ceremony Book, The Ultimate
Wedding Workbook, Get Rich on Love, and Sacred
Breath (a sound recording of relaxation meditations). |
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