What’s Happenin’: Mamma, How Does The Wind Start To Blow

“Mama, How Does The Wind Start To Blow” Book Review

We are very lucky to know the wonderful Mrs. Jeanne. She has been a kindergarten teacher for the last 30 years in Menomonie, WI, and has recently published a children’s book called “Mamma, How Does The Wind Start To Blow”. We are very proud to share a great review she recently received from Midwest Book Review. If you are interested in picking up a copy you can visit her website.

 

Published here February 2014

“Mama, How Does The Wind Start To Blow” is aptly subtitled “A Counting Story That Will Blow You Away!” Filled with creative, brightly decorated, mixed media and collage-like illustrations of leaves falling, fireflies blinking, horses swishing their tails, frogs leaping and sunflowers shedding their seeds, this counting song-like story will grip the imaginations of children age 3-6 everywhere. The answer to the title question comes after a wide variety of other possible sources for the wind blowing have been imagined and explored, from one moon rising to 10 sunflower seeds falling : “It’s simple. Wind starts when a Mother blows an, “I Love You: kiss to her child. Catch it! This wind is for you! ….Catch it! This wind is for you!” Thus the child or reader is actively engaged in the mystical process of linking imagination to reality. The appeal is magical. To underline learning the counting process, the final few pages repeat with ritual embellishment and repeated images the counting numbers and objects, such as one moon, two stars, three leaves, four horses, etc. A final leaping frog asks cheerily, “Got Wind?” “Mama, How Does the Wind Start to Blow” is an irresistible combination of art, poetry, logic, and math. This book deserves an award for stimulating creative learning approaches.