Mrs. DRezensionen

I rarely order books for children. This one did catch my eye with it’s colorful cover. Anytime the topic includes our environment and how to love our mother earth, I get excited. This is a story to share and to pass down. It is a powerful message to carry with us always. Nature will nurture and love us if we return the favor.

The Trees Have Hearts and voices! The author inspires the reader to see nature through the eyes of a child. The Trees Have Hearts by Mrs. D. is a brilliant and beautiful children’s book. The illustrations are just wonderful and the story is sweetly told to connect one with nature. One to be enjoyed by adults or a book to read to your child. Children will love reading this one too!

Once upon a time they told us babies were brought by storks, but today’s children are more likely to know they grow in mommy’s tummy. Baby from the Moon combines both stories, giving the baby a pre-birth existence where he longs for his fair-haired mother, followed by a frantic flight over the earth where the stork finds all the wonderful moms who houses are already full, till he eventually finds one longing for Baby.

From here, the story takes on a real-world sense, with food cravings, voices heard through the pool where baby swims, to birth with its pushing and mom saying she’ll never go through this again. When the baby arrives, love conquers all, and the moon and stars look down.

Baby from the Moon is a sweet story, a nicely modern take on the old stork tale, and a pleasingly real introduction to where babies might really come from. It’s beautifully illustrated with convincing character, whimsical dream, and bright colors, one picture across from each page of clear black-and-white text, an enjoyable book.

Disclosure: I was given a free ecopy and I offer my honest review.

Olga D���Agostino���s story, The Little Girl Praying on the Hill, evokes soliloquy elements with her monologue of a lonely girl���s friendship with the wind and her imaginary friend, the ���snow-white princess���, who represents ���the doll she never had.���
This is a sad story of a child���s feelings of helplessness as she tries to cope with her alcoholic father who continually humiliates and beats up on her mother. The only way her brothers and sisters can protect their mother is by hiding her under the piles of hay in the barn while the father is on a drunken rampage. Yet the young child feels conflicting emotions between the love she has for her father and her despair as she watches his cruelty towards her mother.
There is no love in the young girl���s life; the mother is too exhausted from her long days toiling on the farm, and the alcoholic father is emotionally unable to fulfill his role of husband and parent. She finds solace from her loveless world by embracing the beauty and stability of nature: ���the blue sky became her escape from reality���. Love only comes to her when she imagines herself dead���only then does the mother show her affection by mourning for her loss child.
This is a poignant story���a variation from the author���s usual child-oriented stories���but one that will remind you of the stark reality lived by other children around us who are starving for love. Well done, Olga D���Agostino, this story will bring tears to many.

Mrs. D. has written a sweet tale about the pains of a young girl growing up in a new country. Singled out and ostracized because she speaks a different language, she turns to the trees in her garden for friendship and comfort. They communicate through a universal language, one that emanates from a spiritual connection of the heart. The tree friends provide a refuge from the rejection she experiences at the hands of the other children in the neighborhood and help to compensate for the loneliness of being the only child of a hard-working singe-parent.
The story presents a deep respect for nature and all living things. The trees become an oasis for the outcast, they will always be there ready to listen and comfort.
The illustrations are delightful and follow the young girl's emotional journey in her quest to gain acceptance in the new world. She must learn to deal with the transitions of change, not an easy task when it involves deep-rooted emotional ties.
Just as the trees became a sanctuary for the young lonely girl, this book can very well be a refuge for the parent seeking help for a child living rejection at school or at home. A must read for those who believe in the heart of trees.

Mrs. D once again brings us on a delightful journey with her fabulous picture book, The City Kittens and the Old House Cat. The perfect story to read at Christmas time when we prepare to celebrate our blessings and to be thankful for the love of our family. It is the story of Nydia, an old established cat, who has no patience for the two frisky kittens, calling them pampered city cats. Her opinion of them soon changes when she hears of the bleak conditions the kittens were found in.
The illustrations are splendid and would bring a smile to any young reader. This book goes beyond the cute story about a grumpy cat at Christmas time. There is a message of tolerance for young and old, and the gentle reminder not to judge others.

Good Morning, World is Mrs. D's third picture book and more is on the way. It is a story depicting two contrasting perspectives: the old and the young, the joyful and the fearful, new beginnings and end of journey. It is also presents a sad commentary on man's disconnection with nature. A couch-potato grandfather is coaxed by his wife to take their grandson for a stroll in the park. The young child's joy at seeing all the different birds, butterflies and flowers is cut short by the grandfather's fears of imagined dangers. How much more energetic grandfather would be if he also connected to the beauty and joys of nature?
The colourful images are precious and reflect with detail the young child's enthusiasm as well as grandfather's unease. A terrific choice for the parent seeking a fun book to read to their young child.

Carlo the Mouse, Too many Rules for One Little Mouse is the first instalment of a series of six picture books written by Mrs. D. Carlo is a shrewd little mouse eager to explore outside the confines of his home behind the walls of a hospital kitchen. His parents have managed to escape detection by following six basic rules. Carlo thinks only of seeing new things and is impatient with all these rules, shrugging them off as applying only to adults. Momma and Poppa mouse realize their son is finally ready to go out on his own. They list all the things he absolutely can't do if he wants to survive. Will Carlo follow his parents' advice as he goes in search of adventure? This is an adorable story with enchanting illustrations which will no doubt have your child waiting impatiently for the next book in the series.

There is a valuable lesson for young and old in Mrs. D's children's book, Runaway Clothes. A young child wakes up to a closet empty of all her clothes. The hangers are upset with the way she disrespects her clothes by not putting them away where they belong, and they stage a walk-out.This makes the child think of her how she also treats her toys the same way, and she begins to see things differently. This is a colourful presentation of our affluent society and how little we appreciate what we have. The illustrations are wonderful, and will certainly be a pleaser with the young reader.

Mrs. D is true to her style in her latest children's book, The Royal Palm. A beautiful palm tree grows up vain and disagreeable on a small island filled with a family of ordinary-looking trees. All effort of friendship is snubbed by her. A major storm hits the island and the vain palm tree tries to fight it off by herself. The plain trees feel sorry for her and they save her from being carried off into the raging sea.
The illustrations by Chanoa are splendid and are a great boost to the story. Recommended for read-aloud activities for very young readers.

How many of you had imaginary friends growing up? You were lonely and maybe you didn't have many kids in your neighborhood or perhaps like this little girl you found yourself unable to communicate with other kids and therefore alone and needing friends. This little girl easily captures your heart and sympathies as she makes friends with the only "beings" around. 3 Trees each with their own personalities are in the garden and she friends each one of them. The story takes place over a year and as the season changes so does the little girl - she grows in confidence and by the end of the book she has friends and needs to rely on the trees less and less.

The Trees Have Hearts is a wonderful story for kids who love to sink into a good book. Perhaps like our heroine they are lonely and need friends or perhaps they love a good book to read on a rainy afternoon. The pictures are beautiful and fun to explore and the details in them are wonderful. The suggested reading level is 5-8 but I would say it's for kids who are able to read/listen to a lot of detail. It's a bit long and the dialog is very detailed for most 5 year olds so I would suggest parents read it first before giving it to their kids to read or trying to read it.

Disclaimer: I was offered a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review. No money exchanged hands and I was not required to have a positive review. Thanks for reading!