Perfect Picture Book Friday - Mowing and The May Pitch Winner and The May PPBF Winner

We interrupt our regularly scheduled program for an important service announcement from our sponsor:

For anyone who might not have read Monday's post, this is our second to last week of Perfect Picture Books before summer.  PPBF will go on hiatus from (and including) June 22 - August 31.  After June 15, the next PPBF date will be Friday September 7.  I apologize to anyone whose style this cramps, but I just can't be sure of being able to keep up over the summer.  The updating is very time consuming and there have been glitches lately which means work has to be redone, and I am going to be crazy busy for the next 12 weeks.  Plus, a lot of you are going to be busy and traveling and etc. too.  So we can all take a break for the summer - read and gather up lots of great picture books for the fall.  In the meantime, there will be fun and games going on around here on Fridays to keep you from missing PPBF too much - Summer Short & Sweets! - quick writing fun served with fresh lemonade and cookies :)

We now return you to the program already in progress :)

Apparently all I can think about this week is baby deer :)

So in about 14 seconds you'll understand why I chose this week's Perfect Picture Book :)

Mowing
Written By:  Jessie Haas
Illustrated By:  Jos. A. Smith
Greenwillow Books, 1994, Fiction
Suitable For: ages 4-8

Themes/Topics: farms, grandparents, generations, modernization, respect for wildlife, vehicles

Opening:  "Early in the morning Gramp and Nora go to the field to mow.  They hear the cry of the bobolink, the swish of the tall grass, the thud of the horses' hooves.
At the edge of the field Gramp lowers the cutter bar.
"Hop off, Nora," he says.  "You'll be safer on the ground."  Gramp speaks softly to the horses.  "Giddap!"  They walk, and the mowing machine begins to clatter."

Brief Synopsis:  Just as morning is peeking over the horizon, Gramp and Nora head out to mow the hay.  Gramp drives an old-fashioned sickle bar mower with Nora in his lap holding the reins.  When they reach the field, it's Nora's job to hop down and keep an eye out for any little animal that might be injured by the horses or the cutter blades.  What does she see?  (I'm betting you can guess one thing she sees! :))  When the mowing is done, two tall islands of grass still stand.  Gramp says some would call that a bad job of mowing, but he and Nora know better.  They know they have taken care to leave the animals safe and protected.

Links To Resources: Fawn Coloring Page 1, Fawn Coloring Page 2, Fawn Facts, National Geographic Groundhog Facts, National Geographic Killdeer Facts.  Talk about the difference in the way hay is mowed today.  Talk about other situations where you might want to be respectful of wildlife.

Why I Like This Book:  This is the kind of sweet, quiet book that I absolutely love.  My kids loved it too, and we read it over and over and over.  The language is gentle, the story is simple with that nostalgic feel of hearkening back to a different time, and the message of caring for all the creatures who share our world is lovely.  On top of that, the art is just beautiful, particularly the way the artist captured the changing light, from dawn through late afternoon, and the different perspectives he uses.  It's a wonderful book for nap time, bedtime, or anytime kids need to unwind.

For the complete list of books with resources, please visit Perfect Picture Books.

Before we all head off for the weekend, I have a couple other things to say (because I wouldn't be me if I didn't, right? :))

First, I know none of you were able to sleep last night, wondering who the winner of the coveted May Pitch Contest would be.

And I'm going to tell you just as soon as I finish singing 99 Bottles of Pop On The Wall (because this is a kid-friendly blog where we would never think of drinking anything stronger than soda pop :))

"OOOHHHH.......!!!!!  99 bottles of pop on the wall, 99 bottles of pop.  You take one down and pass it around, 98 bottles of pop on the wall.  98 bottles of pop on the wall, 98 bottles of pop...."

Everyone!  Join in!  Can you hear me on all seven continents???

OK, OK, enough of that.  Would you guys quit fooling around?  We have important business here.  I'm trying to tell you, if you would stop caterwauling, that the winner of the May Pitch Pick is.........

ELIZABETH!!! with her pitch for MAGNIFICENT!!!

WOO-HOO!  Well done!  I must tell you, it was an exceptionally tight race!  So congratulations to Elizabeth, and to everyone who bravely entered and hopefully learned a lot so they can now feel more confident about their pitches.

And NOW, just when you thought the prize giving was over for the day, it's NOT!

As you know, I like to thank all the wonderful participants in PPBF for their hard work each month by randomly selecting a blogger to receive a prize!  The winner for May is Laura R at I've Got A Book For That!!!  Please email me, Laura, and let me know which you would like for your prize: *rummaging in my bag of goodies...* let's see... your choice of Red Knit Cap Girl, Chicks Run Wild, a signed copy of Can't Sleep Without Sheep, or a $15 Amazon Gift Card.

PPBF bloggers, please add your post specific link to the list below, and everyone have a great weekend!