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Happy Mamas
A lyrical read aloud that pays tribute to mothering in the animal and human kingdoms. Charming illustrations depict activities that bring joy to a mama and her baby over the course of a day: feeding her little ones bundles of bamboo shoots; teaching her calf how to trumpet a loud jungle cheer; playing peek-a- boo; watching her little ones fly from the nest; singing a serenade to the man in the moon;or crooning owly lullabies through the deep dark woods. But as the moon glows and the stars shine, what is it that makes all mamas - from desert to jungle, from forest to field, from land to sea - happiest by far? Mamas and babies everywhere will delight in this happy romp -a perfect ode to motherhood!
- GenresPicture BooksChildrens
30 pages, Hardcover
First published October 10, 2016
16 people want to read
About the author
Kathleen T. Pelley
13 books128 followersI was born in Glasgow, Scotland—a country famous for its heather dappled mountains, lochs, tartans, thistles, shaggy Highland cattle, sheep, bagpipes, castles, haggis, and of course, a veritable treasure chest of stories.
My gentle Irish father also loved to feed me his own tales of fairies, leprechauns, and banshees. Every summer, my two big brothers and I would visit my grandparents’ farm in Ireland, where we whiled away the days with hay-rides, turf-rides, milking cows, shearing sheep, feeding pet lambs, and organizing frog races.
My passion for stories stemmed from listening to them: crouched in front of the radio for the BBC children’s hour, or huddled before a turf fire in Ireland as the aunts and uncles talked in low, hushed voices, or walking hand in hand with my dad down a leafy lane, as he whispered secrets to me about mermaids and banshees. Before I could write words, or read them, I knew that they were magic, because of the music they made.
After I learned to read, I devoured all the fairy tales I could find. At school my favorite subjects were English and History and Drama. At Edinburgh University, I studied History. I was never very good at remembering all the dates, because that involved numbers, but I had no trouble remembering the people and the events, because that involved stories. As an elementary teacher, I loved teaching language and history and drama. In my classroom I always made plenty of time for reading stories aloud to my students, no matter what age they were.
After moving to the States in 1990 with my husband, an American, and my two daughters, one born in Scotland, the other in England, I was extremely homesick. Writing helped to soothe the hurt in my heart, and soon I was sending off my stories to publishers.
After many, many, years, and many, many rejections, I finally began to experience a few small successes, and in October 2003, my first children’s picture book was published by Child and Family Press.
When I’m not writing my own stories, I enjoy telling stories to anyone who will listen. For over twelve years I was a narrator of books on tape for the Colorado Talking Book Library, and for the past 20 years I have been fortunate to have a wonderful audience of children at two inner city elementary schools, where I visit once a month and read folktales and fairytales from around the world to grades K-6. Visit my website to sign up for a membership and access to these stories online.
My gentle Irish father also loved to feed me his own tales of fairies, leprechauns, and banshees. Every summer, my two big brothers and I would visit my grandparents’ farm in Ireland, where we whiled away the days with hay-rides, turf-rides, milking cows, shearing sheep, feeding pet lambs, and organizing frog races.
My passion for stories stemmed from listening to them: crouched in front of the radio for the BBC children’s hour, or huddled before a turf fire in Ireland as the aunts and uncles talked in low, hushed voices, or walking hand in hand with my dad down a leafy lane, as he whispered secrets to me about mermaids and banshees. Before I could write words, or read them, I knew that they were magic, because of the music they made.
After I learned to read, I devoured all the fairy tales I could find. At school my favorite subjects were English and History and Drama. At Edinburgh University, I studied History. I was never very good at remembering all the dates, because that involved numbers, but I had no trouble remembering the people and the events, because that involved stories. As an elementary teacher, I loved teaching language and history and drama. In my classroom I always made plenty of time for reading stories aloud to my students, no matter what age they were.
After moving to the States in 1990 with my husband, an American, and my two daughters, one born in Scotland, the other in England, I was extremely homesick. Writing helped to soothe the hurt in my heart, and soon I was sending off my stories to publishers.
After many, many, years, and many, many rejections, I finally began to experience a few small successes, and in October 2003, my first children’s picture book was published by Child and Family Press.
When I’m not writing my own stories, I enjoy telling stories to anyone who will listen. For over twelve years I was a narrator of books on tape for the Colorado Talking Book Library, and for the past 20 years I have been fortunate to have a wonderful audience of children at two inner city elementary schools, where I visit once a month and read folktales and fairytales from around the world to grades K-6. Visit my website to sign up for a membership and access to these stories online.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
September 30, 2016
MY REVIEW:
I adored this book. I have to admit that a tear may have dipped down my cheek. This book really does capture the joys of parenting whether in a home in America or abroad or in nature, motherhood can be the single greatest joy in the world. Nothing makes a mother's happier than when their children are happy. From morning to night mother's strive to be there for their children. This book captures everything that is wonderful about being a mother. The illustrations also capture the sheer love between a mother and child. This may become a book us Mom's read to our kids at night to remind ourselves that we may not always get it right, but it is always done in love. Love this book, so very much!
I adored this book. I have to admit that a tear may have dipped down my cheek. This book really does capture the joys of parenting whether in a home in America or abroad or in nature, motherhood can be the single greatest joy in the world. Nothing makes a mother's happier than when their children are happy. From morning to night mother's strive to be there for their children. This book captures everything that is wonderful about being a mother. The illustrations also capture the sheer love between a mother and child. This may become a book us Mom's read to our kids at night to remind ourselves that we may not always get it right, but it is always done in love. Love this book, so very much!
July 29, 2016
I LOVED this heart-warming picture book! My son is now nine, so a bit old for it, but this is *exactly* the kind of book we adored reading together when he was a toddler and preschooler. The illustrations are beautiful-- they exude tender mother-child love and joy. Young kids will have a great time talking about the various mother-child animal pairings in a variety of vivid and engaging settings.
And the text is incredible! The words are SO much fun to read together--- the author has such a poetic and playful sense of language. It's the rollicking kind of verse that parents will delight in reading out loud, and little ones delight in listening to.
I remember that when my son was little, we quickly tired of board books with sparse text, and instead, embraced books like this, which use lush, rhythmic, sing-song language to express emotions.
This is a wonderful way to introduce your toddler to a world of enticing animals, landscapes, and language... and it will make you feel that warm bond of parent-child love every time you read it. This would make a PERFECT baby shower gift or gift for a toddler or preschooler. More picture books like this, please!
And the text is incredible! The words are SO much fun to read together--- the author has such a poetic and playful sense of language. It's the rollicking kind of verse that parents will delight in reading out loud, and little ones delight in listening to.
I remember that when my son was little, we quickly tired of board books with sparse text, and instead, embraced books like this, which use lush, rhythmic, sing-song language to express emotions.
This is a wonderful way to introduce your toddler to a world of enticing animals, landscapes, and language... and it will make you feel that warm bond of parent-child love every time you read it. This would make a PERFECT baby shower gift or gift for a toddler or preschooler. More picture books like this, please!
November 1, 2016
I love how this book shows the love mamas have for their children--both humans and animals. The author takes different times of the day and asks a question which is then answered by showing how that applies to different animals and then to humans. They are simple things that any mama can do, and they certainly bring me happiness!
I also enjoyed the illustrations! The colors are soft and there are fun little details (like a smiley face on a stack of pancakes) as well as lots of animals to identify. Children will enjoy learning about the differences and similarities between animals and humans. It's a high quality book so it will make a nice gift and is a book that mamas will enjoy reading with their little ones!
I received a complimentary copy, which did not affect my review in any way.
Mel's Shelves
I also enjoyed the illustrations! The colors are soft and there are fun little details (like a smiley face on a stack of pancakes) as well as lots of animals to identify. Children will enjoy learning about the differences and similarities between animals and humans. It's a high quality book so it will make a nice gift and is a book that mamas will enjoy reading with their little ones!
I received a complimentary copy, which did not affect my review in any way.
Mel's Shelves
September 17, 2016
This was an adorable read. The rhythmic text coupled with the sweet illustrations was so nice to read, and I could very easily imagine reading it along with a preschool-age kid.
January 8, 2017
ages 3-5
This book is cute, but I didn't love the limiting message it told of what makes mothers happy. The animal and human mamas in the story are happy when their babies are fed and cared for and ready for sleep. But what about other interests outside of mothering? A little too anti-feminist for my taste.
http://www.momsradius.com/2016/12/cyb...
This book is cute, but I didn't love the limiting message it told of what makes mothers happy. The animal and human mamas in the story are happy when their babies are fed and cared for and ready for sleep. But what about other interests outside of mothering? A little too anti-feminist for my taste.
http://www.momsradius.com/2016/12/cyb...
October 6, 2016
Happy Mamas is a picture book written by Kathleen T. Pelley and illustrated by Ruth E Harper. It is currently scheduled for release on October 10 2016. This book is intended as a read aloud that pays tribute to mothering in the animal and human kingdoms. It depicts activities that bring joy to a mama and her baby over the course of a day: feeding her little ones, teaching playing peek-a- boo; watching her little ones fly from the nest; singing a serenade to the man in the moon; or crooning owly lullabies through the deep dark woods. But as the moon glows and the stars shine, what is it that makes all mamas - from desert to jungle, from forest to field, from land to sea, happiest by far?
Happy Mamas is a sweet book, combining the things that make parents happy regardless of species. Feeding their children, playing with them, teaching them things they need to know, and snuggling at bedtime. I felt like some off the text felt a little forced, and while the story all worked it did not impress me.Some of the illustrations were beautiful and charming, and I like that the humans included were not all generic caucasians, I felt like some of the detail work was less than I expected. None of it was bad, it just did not wow me. I have seen so many picture books, good and bad, and while this might fit the bill for occasional bedtime reading I do not think it will be a requested read or one that parents will have to read over and over.
Happy Mamas is a sweet book, combining the things that make parents happy regardless of species. Feeding their children, playing with them, teaching them things they need to know, and snuggling at bedtime. I felt like some off the text felt a little forced, and while the story all worked it did not impress me.Some of the illustrations were beautiful and charming, and I like that the humans included were not all generic caucasians, I felt like some of the detail work was less than I expected. None of it was bad, it just did not wow me. I have seen so many picture books, good and bad, and while this might fit the bill for occasional bedtime reading I do not think it will be a requested read or one that parents will have to read over and over.
July 22, 2016
What a cute book for little ones. Happy Mamas by Kathleen T. Pelley shows all the things mothers and their offspring do using humans and animals. As it says on the back of the book, "All mamas want to see their babies learn, play and grow. Join these happy mama and their little ones in forest, jungle, snow, field, and beyond and see how universal a Mama's love can be"
Doing everyday things such as bathing, singing, eating and playing, each mama and baby have smiles on their faces. The illustrations are amazing. Ruth E. Harper has done large, colourful, happy illustrations with lots of detail that are fun to look at. They add so much to each page that you can't help but spend time looking and talking about them to your little one. I like how the day is broken up from getting up in the morning, meals and going to bed at the end. This would be a great read anytime during the day, but a wonderful bedtime story. This should be in everyone's family library.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Doing everyday things such as bathing, singing, eating and playing, each mama and baby have smiles on their faces. The illustrations are amazing. Ruth E. Harper has done large, colourful, happy illustrations with lots of detail that are fun to look at. They add so much to each page that you can't help but spend time looking and talking about them to your little one. I like how the day is broken up from getting up in the morning, meals and going to bed at the end. This would be a great read anytime during the day, but a wonderful bedtime story. This should be in everyone's family library.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
August 6, 2016
Rhythmic text, warm and colorful illustrations, and the appeal of cute baby animals will draw young readers to this book. At each time of day various mamas, both animal and human, are shown in activities with their offspring. Whether it is finding bamboo for a panda cub, a baby elephant spraying water from its trunk, or a child tiptoeing close to see a butterfly, each scene is vibrant and inviting. The mothers in the wild are busy making sure their young are fed, safe, and happy, just as the human mothers are. Penguins slip and slide on the ice, kangaroos and joeys jump about, babies play peekaboo or float rubber ducks in the tub, but they all have happy faces and contented mamas looking on.
For young readers who are fascinated with baby animals, parents looking for a good bedtime story, or teachers searching for a text to do a compare/contrast lesson, this title fits the bill. Those looking for diversity in children's books will be please to see a variety of ethnic backgrounds pictured in the human families.
I read an e-book provided by the publisher through Netgalley.
For young readers who are fascinated with baby animals, parents looking for a good bedtime story, or teachers searching for a text to do a compare/contrast lesson, this title fits the bill. Those looking for diversity in children's books will be please to see a variety of ethnic backgrounds pictured in the human families.
I read an e-book provided by the publisher through Netgalley.
August 6, 2016
This book is a beautiful reflection on the days of childhood - idyllically carefree and joy-filled for both baby and mother. It opens the child's mind to other places, other worlds, other perspectives in a very thoughtful and child-centered way, using animals children love. The illustrations bring the text to life and nothing distracts from the message Kathleen T. Pelley has for us. Beneath the lilting delivery of this beautiful script is the very powerful message of the unfailing bond of unconditional love a mother has for her child. As an educator and a mother and grandmother, I have loved sharing this gem with preschool children and my own grand-children who love to repeat the words and who ask me to slow down when turning the pages because they want to look at the pictures! Wonderful!
July 17, 2016
Happy Mamas by Kathleen T. Pelley, Illustrated by Ruth E. Harper is a delightful children's book. I gave it four stars.
It is charmingly illustrated & my favorite little boy liked all the details in the pictures. He wanted me to read it again & again.
I received a complimentary copy from CWLA Press & NetGalley. That did not change my opinion for this review.
Link to purchase: No available link to purchase at this time.
It is charmingly illustrated & my favorite little boy liked all the details in the pictures. He wanted me to read it again & again.
I received a complimentary copy from CWLA Press & NetGalley. That did not change my opinion for this review.
Link to purchase: No available link to purchase at this time.
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September 30, 2016This is such a sweet book. I adore reading bedtime stories with my child and this book captures those wonderful emotions and adds a bit of silly! It is fun to read out loud and my daughter loves to flip the pages and look at all the different animals.
Kathleen visited my daughter's school and we all adored her. She was fun, engaging, and snuck in a bit of learning without the children even knowing! I am a happy mama after reading this book!
Kathleen visited my daughter's school and we all adored her. She was fun, engaging, and snuck in a bit of learning without the children even knowing! I am a happy mama after reading this book!
July 22, 2016
Sweet book but something wasn't quite doing it for me. I wasn't amazed by the text or illustrations. However, it would be nice book to gift to an expectant mother as it includes various kinds of animals and how their mamas care for them.
*I received an ARC via NetGalley & CWLA Press in exchange for an honest review.
*I received an ARC via NetGalley & CWLA Press in exchange for an honest review.
July 27, 2016
Cute story about mama's and their babies. The book follows animals throughout the day, showing love and affection. Very cute. I found I wanted the book to rhyme in some parts, as the phrasing was read aloud, so it was a bit awkward when it didn't. My kids found it cute at first, but didn't hold their attention.
I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
August 12, 2016
This is such a sweet story that reads like a love letter from mother to child. I read the book to my three year old who adored it. My daughter enjoyed making the animal sounds on each page and pointing out the babies (her) and the mamas (me). I foresee this book quickly becoming a bedtime favorite.
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July 18, 2016
I liked the illustrations of animals and that there people in the illustrations represent many cultures.
I received an ARC from NetGalley.
I received an ARC from NetGalley.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews