Noisy Nora (1973)

      Noisy Nora has lots of energy, like any young creature. When her parents do not give her attention, Nora accidentally makes messes around the house. She's not deliberately misbehaving; she's simply looking for things to do. "Why are you so dumb?" asks Nora's older sister. This is a misperception. Nora  is simply discovering how the world works and makes messes as she learns. Nora so misses her family's attention that she gets angry enough to say she is running away from home. When Nora returns at the end of the story, her family is very happy to see her. This story has lovely rhyme that occurs across several pages.

     When I look at Rosemary Wells website, the book I own (1973) isn't listed. A 2000 used  publication of this story starts at $6.44 on Amazon. Before I create a lesson for a book, I check that there are many inexpensive used copies of it on Amazon. That doesn't seem to be the case here, so my apologies. I hope you come across this simple yet significant--and literally little--book at a library or yard sale. 

If I Could: A Mother's Promise (2008)

     I had a curious reaction to the book  If I Could: A Mother’s Promise by SusanMilord (2008). Certain I’d read variations of this story a hundred times; I scrolled through my blog. But I did not find a similar picture book.  Instead, I found I Wish You More and Noisy Nora. Noise Nora was quite different, a story about parents too busy to deal with one of their children.

     Susan Milford gives us a story of a mother’s boundless devotion to her only child. This is a dreamy story about an idyllic world a mother longs to create for her child. Indeed, some mothers feel it’s their responsibility to move heaven and earth. “If I could, I’d paint the flowers to brighten all your waking hours. If I could, I’d swim the deep in search of treasure for you to keep.” Yes, if I could, I’d inspire all mothers to feel such devotion.

     However, in my old age, if I could, I would teach mothers to define personal boundaries. Mothers who do too much exhaust themselves  and deny their children lessons of reality. If I could, I would build empowerment in children who learn helplessness from parents who overprotect, helicopter, and create fantasy environments. If I could, I would expect all mothers to improve living conditions for all children, not just their own.   

     ChristopherDenise portrays racoon for this version of motherhood. I love his illustration style. The setting is beside the ocean. His family strolls through flowers, collects sea shells, and looks up at an expansive night sky devoid of light pollution. The jacket flap states that he lives in Barrington, Rhode Island, an affluent community by the sea. Wouldn’t it be nice is everyone could enjoy such a picturesque existence?