My Maine Christmas Days

My Maine Christmas Days

Picture book
I have never seen as beautiful an adaptation of The Twelve Days
of Christmas as Wendy Ulmer's My Twelve Maine Christmas Days. Each
day's item from the wild pine tree given by a woodsman through the
four new potatoes dug up by a farmer to the twelve chicadees spotted
by a birder are as iconic as can be. And they are shown beautifully
in their natural environments. The five majestic moose wade in a
lake. The seven sand dollars are being collected by a little girl at
the beach. The six woolen mittens are on the hands of people building
a jovial snowman.
At the back there is intriguing information about the paintings
and the places that inspired them. Do you know how special mittens
are created for lumberjacks and fisherpeople? Do you know why some
lobsters are blue? Can you guess why a 1,062 pound whoopie pie was
created in 2011? Read the book and see.
Parents and teachers: use this fine book as a springboard for
creativity. Kids singly or in groups can write and iillustrate unique
versions. It can get youngsters and adults thinking about what makes
a state truly special.
On a personal note, my daughter, Amber, who has a wonderful crafts
blog (http://Amberscraftaweek.blogspot.com)
is doing a most intriguing miniatures project. It's a beautifully
furnished dollhouse for a little owl she has crafted. I was able to
watch her make tiny books with real pages for the bookcase. The next
week she had made pencils out of toothpicks. I can't wait to see what
she comes up with next.
A great big shout out goes out to Amber and her equally crafty
fiancée, Brian, who has created an adult coloring book.
Jules Hathaway


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