{Guest Post} My Favourite Children's Author: James Mayhew

I'm very happy to introduce a fellow mum blogger who will be sharing all about her favourite children's author - James Mayhew.

Lyn is a mum to two sweet little girls, aged almost 4 and 1.5 years respectively.  She blogs because she has all these little thoughts knocking about in her head that need an outlet.  Lyn loves writing, loves chronicling memories for posterity, and loves the key subjects of her blog - hubby and kids!

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One of our favourite authors is James Mayhew, and we came across his books by chance, at the British Museum when I was there with hubby and K (at 18 months).  I usually don't buy stuff at museum shops, but ended up buying two titles by him that day.

I was pleased to later find that our libraries also stock his books! The books comprise all the elements of a good children's book to me - lovely illustrations, captivating imaginative story lines that blur the line between fiction and fantasy and themes that appeal to young children, all written in a language that is simple yet not childish.

I also liked the fact that so many of his books were art-focused, which makes it a great way to introduce young ones to the slightly more abstract concept of great art.

Reading-level wise, there are about three to five sentences at the bottom of each page (that contains huge illustrations), and the books are suitable for reading aloud to children from 2.5 to 5 years old.  Perhaps around 4 years of age, kids will be interested in reading some words or sentences themselves. But it's not really a "I can read" or 'Peter and Jane' type book (which to me has no/very thin plot!), not until the children are 5 or 6 I think.

Today, I am reviewing "Katie and the WaterLily Pond", a delightful book about Katie's adventures at a Monet Exhibition, whilst her grandma naps in the gallery (a very common premise of the books).

This is proof that our glorious NLB stocks this - though the tag usually annoys me cos it obscures a good part of most book covers. Argh!

I realised that I had acquired this print during my student days too!  Can't remember from which museum, but I was very pleased to unearth it to feature in this blog activity and post.

The story features Katie wandering in and out of five Monet Masterpieces, and trying to paint one to enter into the museum's competition for children.  (spoiler ahead) After various botched attempts, she decides that nothing could go wrong in a peaceful waterlily pond, and tries to enter that painting to capture what she can see. Alas!  A little green frog in the pond snatches her painting and drops it into the pond! When she fishes it out, the colours have all smudged together.

Voila! The judges decide that the watery painting is most Monet, and Katie wins the competition.

So our craft task (simple one) was to reproduce this painting.  I toyed with the idea of watercolours, but didn't think I had the right ones. So I figured we could try making an impressionist crayon drawing instead!

With my favourite $2 soft crayon set from Daiso. I held K's hand and guided her in the drawing of the bridge, then drew a few waterlily pads and asked her to go over them with white to get a more blurry smudged effect.

Then I realised I could just shade in the vague shades of light and green, where they were supposed to appear, and go over those with light green or white to get the right effect!  K enjoyed dotting in the pink waterlily flowers - no surprise, that!

Ta-DAH - our Monet Waterlily Pond

It was a fun exercise, and an interesting activity for bonding, that I wouldn't have thought of if not for this review.

As promised earlier, here's more about the titles I bought.  Katie in London is about how one of the huge stone lions of Trafalgar's Square bring Katie and her little brother Jack, traipsing all over the key sights in London.

So all in all, I'd really recommend James Mayhew's books, and do grab a copy from your local library.

Enjoy!

Why I blog

When I started blogging years ago, I wanted to try owning a digital diary where I could 'pen' my thoughts and claim a small part of the digital space as mine. In those days, I would blog about life in general and even include a poem or two.

Then motherhood came. I was so enthusiastic about this new journey I wanted to blog everyday, to chronicle the amazing moments and share them with everyone in the enormous worldwide web. Of course in reality, that was not possible.

The idea that mothers have a lot of free time because of our long maternity leave is a farce. Whatever free time a mother has is dedicated to the baby. Add to the equation a breastfeeding baby who needs to be fed on average every two to three hours, each time taking between thirty minutes to an hour, there really isn't much time to do anything else. It is even more difficult when you have two kids and have to spread your love and attention.

So all you people out there who think having an extended maternity leave is a jolly holiday for us mums, think again.

So why do I blog?

My blog is a representation of my life in words and visuals, and is filled with my stories as a daughter, sister, daughter-in-law, wife and mother of two.

It is a space where I share my children's adventures through life and document their growing up years. I am constantly inspired by them. Every moment with them is fun and filled with surprises and challenges. I want to share them with my grandmother in Hong Kong, so she can see and laugh at the funny antics of her great grandchildren. I want to share them with the whole world and proclaim just how amazing my kids are - they really are simply AMAZING!!

My blog is my expressive outlet. It is my digital diary where I pen the ups and downs I am facing in life and as a mummy. It is a very restorative experience, sometimes soothing and calming when I am troubled, other times stirring and stimulative, inspiring me even more. It may sometimes even be emotional. Much like in the past when I would keep my very own hard copy diary. Just that now, it is on the internet.

When I read through my blog again from time to time, I see how I have progressed, matured as a person and as a mummy. My blogging journey becomes a reflection of my journey in life.

Blogging used to be a one-woman show for me, but not any more. I am now connected with other blogging mums. We chat online, we meet and chat some more other lunch. Being a blogging mum is so much more fun and meaningful now.

So how long will I be blogging for? There's no expiry date to this blogging journey. I will blog for as long as I have the energy. Perhaps years down the road, when I am old, toothless with wrinkled skin and white hair, I will still be typing away (in mid-air perhaps?), chronicling my life and sharing with my grandchildren the life story that is their grandmother's.

This is my story.

My post is just one of 14 stories from 14 Singapore Blogging Moms on why we blog.

Next on the ‘Why Moms Blog’ blog train -

Jiahui from Mum’s the word is a 7 year old mummy who realised that it was close to impossible to remember every experience she had with her three kids. Since she couldn’t keep mum any longer, she stepped into the blogging world to journal down bits of what happens in her life.

What to do when a toddler has diarrhea

It all started on a Saturday afternoon. Becky started passing soft stools. That was the first sign something was not quite right. By mid-evening, she had passed motion eight times. Alarm bells more than just rang. they screamed. By the next morning, she had passed nothing eleven times. I brought her to the family doctor that I had seen for so many years, first because his clinic was open on a Sunday morning and secondly, my hubby's company medical insurance could be used there. Becky was so keen on seeing the doc you'd think she was feigning illness. But of course, she was not. During the whole check up, she was really still and attentive and obediently followed instructions. The doc assured me that it was not serious, and gave some medicine for Becky's diarrhea, abdominal pains and stomach gas. I had to monitor her the next few days to see her progress.

Her stools continued to be soft, but she needed to pass motion fewer times, which was a positive sign. She was still eating, though understandbly less. I also made her drink lots of water. On Monday night, Becky came down with a fever, and it shot to 39 degrees.

You can imagine my fright. I quickly gave her fever medicine and stuck a cooling gel pad on her forehead. Fortunately, her fever went down and stayed below 37.5 degrees, before returning to normal.

After almost three days of diarrhea, Becky is noticeably more tired and has no appetite. She only ate a bit of porridge, some luncheon meat, a sausage bun and some milk yesterday. I know she's not supposed to have milk, but she HAS to have her milk, so I ended up diluting it.

She didn't have any fever last night. Phew! But she's still having runny stools. So I and the whole family will continue to be on high alert.

Throughout her ordeal, Becky has been really brave, stoically bearing the pan and the discomfort. After the first day, she learnt to give us warnings and tell us she needed to pass motion. So we always managed to rush her to the potty in time. Other than the more occasional tantrums, the extreme stickiness and the more emotional mood swings, Becky has been quite bubbly. Still my curious, ah-siao little Becky.

So what have I learnt about handling a toddler with diarrhea? Here's my tip sheet.

1. Be prepared to change diapers extremely often, up to once an hour, on the first, even second day.

2. Be constantly vigilant, and be on the lookout for any facial or behavourial changes that tell you your toddler might need the potty.

3. Have nimble hands and legs. Once you know your toddler has to pass motion, you need to rush to the toilet, remove the bottoms, double time.

4. Be extremely patient. Toddlers will be very emotional and cranky, and they might only want to stick to you and only you during this time.

5. Have lots of toys and activities to divert the toddler's attention away from the pain and discomfort.

6. Assure, assure and reassure your toddler that it is alright, that it's ok to have abdominal pains, that it's ok to have diarrhea, that it will get better. Especially if it is the first time, they will feel frightened, so the reassurance will help to set their little minds at ease.

7. Your toddler will have less appetite, or even refuse to eat. So let him or her eat anything he or she wants to, even if it is unhealthy. The important thing is your toddler is eating and getting some food into the tummy. Whatever restrictions can come again once he or she gets well.

8. Have 'yu yi' oil handy. This is the brown coloured Chinese medicinal oil that helps to dispel gas. Rub the oil between your palms to warm it, then apply. Becky loves this as it soothes her tummy.

9. Constantly monitor for fever.

10. Let your toddler drink lots of water, as lots is being lost.

11. Try the BRAT diet. Feed your toddler banana, rice, apple and toast. These foods help to reduce diarrhea as they are relatively bland and low in fibre. Low fibre foods are recommended as those high in fibre can cause gas and possibly worsen gastrointestinal upset.

12. Be prepared to lose sleep for up to a week.

There. My tip sheet for handling a toddler with diarrhea. If you have any other advice to add on, let me know. It is always good to know what else we can do for the young ones when they are unwell.

Now let me now go tuck Becky in and make sure my little darling is comfortable.

My Favourite Children's Author: Eric Carle

As parents, we all read books to our children. With an endless trove of books to choose from, and so many wonderful authors, there is bound to be some authors that we as parents love and share with our children.

It is for this reason that the My Favourite Children's Author Guest Post series was created. For the next two months, you will discover some of my fellow SMB bloggers' favourite authors, as well as related activities that they have done with their children.

First, I will share with you my favourite children's author. This gentleman is well loved for his beautiful and innovative picture books for very young children, with many titles inspired by his love for nature, a love which is equally appealing to his young audience too. Subjects of his tales include a hungry caterpillar, a grouchy ladybug, a brown bear and even a busy little spider. Guessed who he is? Yes, it's none other than the talented Eric Carle.

www.eric-carle.com

Born in Syracase, New York in 1929, Carle grew up in Germany and was a graduate of the prestigious art school, the Akademie der bildenden Kunste in Stuttgart. He returned to America in 1952 and found work as a graphic designer with The New York Times.

One of Carle's creations for an advertisement while he was art director at an advertising agency caught the attention of Bill Martin Jr, a respected educator and author. Thanks to this picture of a red lobster, Bill Martin and Carle collaborated on the classic Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See?, with Carle doing the illustrations. It is still a favourite with children everywhere today.

And the rest is history. Soon, Carle started writing his own stories too. His first wholly original book was 1,2,3 to the Zoo, followed soon by the celebrated classic The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Published in 1969, this book has been translated into more than 50 languages and sold over 33 million copies.

An illustrator of more than seventy books, most of which he also wrote, Carle's art is iconic and instantly recognisable. In fact, he credits fellow author Leo Lionni as an inspiration for his work. Indeed, the similarities between the two artists are extremely striking, with pictures inspired by animals, nature and their own childhood experiences. And all because of a chance meeting in 1952.

Besides the collage technique using hand-painted papers, which Carle cuts and layers to form bright and cheerful images, many of his books also have added features such as die-cut pages, even holes in the pages like in The Hungry Caterpillar. All these are aimed at giving the books a playful quality, something that can be touched and experienced, not just read.

More than just brilliant illustrations that are captivating, distinctive and instantly recognisable, Carle's stories usually have learning points to tell young readers about the world around them. And this is what I really like about his books. Like the tales by Leo Lionni, Carle's stories always have morales within the plot. Such as the benefits of eating greens in The Hungry Caterpillar, or the importance of being nice and polite in The Grouchy Ladybug, or the journey of self discovery in The Foolish Tortoise.

Eric Carle's books are indeed timeless. No matter what age a child is, his stories are easily understandable, even if the child just looks at the pictures. That's the beauty of the books' simplicity.

Becky has been enjoying his books since she was 10 months old, and today, at two and a half years old, she is still enjoying them. Though now she is able to appreciate the stories even more, and have also attended a recent puppet show based on his stories The Hungry Caterpillar, Brown Bear Brown Bear and Papa Please Get The Moon For Me. It was a real joy for her to see the story being brought to life.

We have almost 15 Eric Carle books and here are some of Becky's favourite titles.

We even have two of the titles in Chinese.

Becky loves getting her hands active, so we like to do activities based on his books. These two, especially, I think she enjoyed herself doing, since Ten Rubber Ducks and The Hungry Caterpillar are at the top of her favourite list.

They are really easy to do.

For Ten Rubber Ducks, I got Becky to paint the background blue to resemble the sea, then I teared bits of yellow and orange paper for her to crumble and paste to make the duck. It is a great motor skills exercise too!

For The Hungry Caterpillar, I cut out circles for Becky to paste together to make a caterpillar, after which I drew in the background, with some help from her. It was also an exercise on shapes.

We also used poms poms to make a caterpillar.

And if you happen to be in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States, visit The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art. Founded by Eric and Barbara Carle in November 2002, the museum aims to inspire a love of art and reading in young children through picture books, and owns more than 10,000 picture book illustrations.

So there, my favourite children's author. If you have not had a chance to read his books, I say, get your hands on them! His books are such a joy to read, even grown ups will enjoy immersing into Eric Carle's wonderful whimsical world!