Mother's Day Mess: A Harry & Emily Adventure

Harry and Emily Adventures #5

by Karen Gray Ruelle

Harry and Emily's plans to give their mother a perfect Mother's Day run into some unexpected difficulties. Simultaneous.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Cats

32 pages, Hardcover

First published February 1, 2003

About the author

I'm a professional writer and illustrator, with 23 children’s books published so far and several others in the works. I write for all ages, from toddlers to adults, and enjoy working on my own, as well as in collaboration with other authors and illustrators.

In terms of style, my illustrations tend to be more whimsical than realistic, and I've worked in watercolor, oils, pastels, pen and ink, and collage. Lately, I've been experimenting with layering colors in oils and using the resulting swatches to create collage. It makes me happy to work with so many gorgeous, rich colors.

My writing ranges from extensively researched, powerful non-fiction narrative to humorous fiction and poetry, with some folktales and other stories thrown in for fun. I write things that move me or make me laugh, and I hope that my readers will enjoy them.

Reviews

[Mae · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Erin Field · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spring Challenge 2023

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was such a cute story to read to my class the Friday before Mother's Day! They loved hearing about the trouble Harry and Emily went through to make Mother's Day special for their mom!

[Maura · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is about a family of cats, and the mother's kittens try to make her mother's day perfect, but it doesn't go as planned. The kittens planted flowers for her months before mother's day, but they forgot to give the flowers sunlight and water. The flowers did not bloom and there was only a vase of soil to give her for mother's day. They tried to cook her a great delicious breakfast, but they over cooked the pancakes. When they went to give their mother their presents, it did not go as plan. The breakfast tray turned over on the bed and all the breakfast and soil spilled all over the bed. The father cat told everyone they that he was taking them out for breakfast. At the end of the book the mother cat turned to her kittens and told them, " Ya'll are my greatest mother's day present, and this is the best mother's day I have ever had. I love y'all two very much." I like this book in the sense that it shows love between a mother and her kittens. This books was very cute. I don't like the fact that it had nothing to do with culture, and the characters seemed unrealistic. I would use this book in my classroom to have a fun book for my students to read.

[Felicity The Magnificent · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this book, it was Mother's Day. Harry and Emily sweeped the floor, they made breakfast for her, they planted zinnias, and they mad a Mother's Day card until it was mother's day. And then they gave her her present. Emily jumped on the bed and made everything ruined. I liked this book because it was Mother's Day. -by Felicity

[Miriam Garcia · Rating 3 out of 5]

An easy to read chapter book that would be a good read for mothers day! In the book the son grows flowers for his mom and in the classroom the teacher could do the same thing. It is a cute book that talks about mother love and a childs good intensions that do not always turn out great.

[Krys (Krys Reads) · Rating 4 out of 5]

via Mother's Day Minis
Cute and quirky and full of little funnies. An ideal starter chapter book. The cooperation of young siblings as they work together to make the best mother's day present ever.

[Corinne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute story about making a Mother's Day gift and what goes wrong.

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cute story for mother's day.

[Kimberly · Rating 2 out of 5]

Two little kittens try to make the best Mother's Day ever for their mother, resulting in a big mess. Good thing Mom loves them no matter what!