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FEATHERING OUR NESTS: O-MAMA’s Perspective on SPRING CLEANING

Spring is in the air.  The birds and the bees are flitting around doing their thing…nature abounds.  The birds are feathering their nests and laying their eggs, while the bees are busy pollinating every flower in the garden.  The air is crisp and clean.  Chirping and buzzing fills the air.

Everything seems fresh and new.  So, let’s take a new look at Spring, shall we? The first thing that comes to mind is cleaning. Ugggh.  But, let's talk about the birds and the bees instead...the part of the story that happens...

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The Country Bunny and the Little Gold Shoes
  • by Dubose Heyward and Marjorie Flack • 10 Comments
  • Tagged in: For Kids
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This is another classic—one of my favorites growing up, and now definitely my daughters’ favorite Easter book in the stack.  It’s pretty long so it’s a real testament to the narrative strength that kids interests’ are absolutely held until the very end.

The Country Bunny tells the story of a little girl bunny who longs to someday be one of the five Easter bunnies who deliver eggs on Easter to children all over the world.  She grows up and gets a little off track (don’t we all?) and winds up having 21 babies.  Oopsie!  But she’s a fabulous mother and has them all trained up nicely to behave and do chores and so forth.  This is my kids’ favorite part:  The author describes what each bunny does around the house.  These two make the beds…these two wash the clothes…these two sweep the floor and so forth.  The 21st bunny pulls out his Mommy’s chair when she sits down to eat.  Aw!

 So now, she’s ready to get back on the career path—sorta like the rest of us—got the kids potty trained, in school and semi-independent and we are ready to get back out there!  She hears that one of the Easter bunnies is old and ready to retire and the powers that be are looking for a new bunny, and any bunny who wants to be an Easter bunny must be swift, kind and wise. So, knowing that she is all these things, she packs up the babies and heads to the Easter bunny headquarters.  She winds up impressing the kindly old grandfather bunny with her mad skills with all her kids, and he makes the ultimate decision.  The moment has a lot of “girl power” in it because all the cocky jackrabbits were laughing at her before her strengths were recognized, but she quietly proved herself and was rewarded.

 The story continues through Easter eve and Easter day and the bunny is given the  difficult but important task of giving a special egg to a very sick boy who lives very far away. She is faced with an arduous journey but never questions and never quits. She is rewarded for her perseverance with the little gold shoes.

 The illustrations are old fashioned and beautiful—lots of color: glorious pictures of the “hall of eggs” that are more than any child has ever imagined.   It has that feeling of being the “real” story of the Easter bunny—not some silly, puffy, glassy-eyed toy, but the real McCoy.  So granted, not the REAL Easter story, if we’re going to go that way—crucifixion etc., but a solid and excellent work of fiction for even the older kids.

 What’s amazing is that this book was written in 1939—70 years ago, and yet not only is the story utterly relevant and still enjoyable to kids today but the lesson is still valid and important—albeit simple!  What matters is what’s in your heart.  Boy or girl—rich or poor—fast or slow; those with good and kind hearts, who work hard and persevere, shall triumph!!!!!  ( I need a cheering sound icon here!)