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Dear Book Lovers, Welcome! I am delighted that you have found The Through the Looking Glass blog. For over twenty years I reviewed children's literature titles for my online journal, which came out six times a year. Every book review written for that publication can be found on the Through the Looking Glass website (the link is below). I am now moving in a different direction, though the columns that I write are still book-centric. Instead of writing reviews, I'm offering you columns on topics that have been inspired by wonderful books that I have read. I tell you about the books in question, and describe how they have have impacted me. This may sound peculiar to some of you, but the books that I tend to choose are ones that resonate with me on some level. Therefore, when I read the last page and close the covers, I am not quite the same person that I was when first I started reading the book. The shift in my perspective might be miniscule, but it is still there. The books I am looking are both about adult and children's titles. Some of the children's titles will appeal to adults, while others will not. Some of the adult titles will appeal to younger readers, particularly those who are eager to expand their horizons.

Sunday, April 3, 2011

The TTLG 2011 Picture Book Celebration: Book Ninety-Three

Almost every morning I have to remind my daughter to make her bed, and almost every morning she rolls her eyes and sighs as she goes to her room to complete the onerous task. Today's picture book takes a look at how generations of children in one family have complained about having to make their bed, and how generations of mothers have dealt with their complaints. I guess some things are truly timeless and universal.

Wade Bradford
Illustrations by Johnna van der Sterre
Picture Book
For ages 4 to 6
Random House, 2011, 978-1-58246-327-8
   One day a little boy asks his mother, “Why do I have to make my bed?” He has done all his other chores and he does not understand why he has to make his bed if it is “just going to get messed up again.”
   In response to this question, the little boy’s mother tells him that his question reminds her of a story about his grandmother. When she was little, the little boy’s grandmother did all her chores but she complained about having to make her bed. Her mother told her that she is not the only one to complain about having to make her bed; her grandfather did the exact same thing! After fetching water from the pump, dusting the phonograph, and picking up his toys he asked his mother, “Pray tell, Mother, why do I have to make my bed?”
   Generations of children in the little boy’s family have asked this question over the years. A girl in 1801 asks the question, a boy in 1762 asks the question, a girl in 1630 asks the question, and so it goes until a boy in 40,000 B.C. asks “Why me have to make bed?” What will his mother say?
   This amusing picture book explores the idea that some things never change. For hundreds and hundreds of years children have complained about having to make their beds, and for hundreds of years their mothers have been giving them the same answer.
   At the back of this book, the author provides his readers will information about Chores Through the Ages, which will show children that the chores that they do now, in the 21st century, are a great deal easier than the ones that their ancestors had to do. Imagine having to plow fields, carry water from the pump or river, and collect cattle droppings to use as fuel for a fire! Perhaps making a bed is not so bad after all.

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