Where oh where has my Summertime gone?

Seriously, I am ill prepared for the onset of soggy wetness of Fall on the island – still totally imagining that I had at least another month of chances for beach runs and leisurely hikes without having to consider unholy amounts of rain gear and busting out the turtlenecks.

And, yet, here we are.

Yesterday, we tried unsuccessfully to bust out the craft box. Even the tiny person is a little irritated with Mother Nature.

So, I’m calling in the reinforcements in the form of a very large haul from the library – which recently included two warm, smile-inducing tales about bringing people (and stuffies) together to see how working together makes life plain old better.

A while back I popped in to visit the new owners of Nearly New Books in downtown Comox (they are REALLY great, very family-focused with lots of youth titles from toddler books right through young adult) and scored an ancient Thornton Burgess book in gorgeous condition.

I’m a gusher, so as I was going on and on about Mr. Burgess and his nature tales, co-owner Diane Kyle plugged me into British children’s author Jane Hissey and her Old Bear & Friends series.

I quickly ran home and reserved a few of the books through VIRL Online and waited.

They soon showed up and we started in, first reading Hoot, a lovable tale about a stuffed owl who scares all of the other toys, then we found our favourite – Old Bear.

In this sweet story, Bramwell Brown and his friends Duck, Rabbit and Little Bear conjure up ways to save their friend Old Bear from a life packed away in the attic. It’s hilarious and sweet in a very stuffed-animal adventure of the sleeping-story kind way. No big Toy Story-esque drama, but enough to make you hope hard that these guys can get their buddy back soon.

I love how they never give up, even take each other in stride when an idea ends up in them stumbling over each other. Plus, this one gets a very solid 8.5 on my AWWWWWW Scale. It’s a warm fuzzy on a cold day.

Thanks Diane, Jane Hissey is a great addition to our reading faves.

We are batting 1,000 around here with book recommendations from moms far and wide as the second read that hit the top of the recent list came from pal Amy Martell, whose beautiful family hails all the way from Boston.

Amy’s daughter and ours are just a few weeks apart and we suspect are two peas from the exact same pod as a deep love of nature, a sweet creative spirit and a feisty take-no-&^%$ sort of day-to-day theory on life is what defines each of them.

They also are very communal sorts of kiddos. So, we are often trading ways on how to keep thinking about using their superpowers for good.

Enter children’s author Jon J. Muth and his Zen version of Stone Soup.

I’ve read about a million versions of this folktale – from the traditional Eastern European to Sesame Street – and always thought it a fine message about working together for the greater good. But, something about Muth’s take, pulling us back into historical China and using Buddhist tradition of the tricksters who offer enlightenment to recreate the characters, resonates deeply with me.

Beautifully illustrated watercolour drawings pull you in as the story takes you into a Chinese village where three monks, Hok, Lok and Siew, have set out to discover what happiness is.

Along with the villagers, they create the Stone Soup and much more. Families and friends reconnect and find out that, working together, life is good.

This book is a perfect fit for kiddos of just about any age as it can work as a simple bedtime tale for toddlers and preschoolers while evolving into talking points about culture, society and religious practices around the world for school-aged children.

Our daughter and I, after several readings of the story, made our own recipe for Stone Soup, making it out of garden veggies (and chocolate, well, it’s on the list even if it’s not in the soup:)), agreeing that we’d pass it out to folks who could use a warm bowl:)

This makes for a lovely jumping off point to start your older children down the path to community service – giving them a touchstone that’s on their level (stories are amazing for that) to begin talking about where they would like to help out in the community.

Both books are available at the library or can be ordered through your local independent book store.

Stay warm and cozy today…and enjoy!

Book covers photos courtesy of Scholastic Press and Random House UK.