Love & Lessons From The Animal Kingdom

I hope that everyone enjoys their long weekend (please do try to remember the reason for this holiday). This is just a quick post about two nice little books I recently received in exchange for sharing my impressions with all of you. This set features sweet collections of pictures, quotes, and interesting facts about animal parents.

The Wisdom Of Moms

I spent my Mother’s Day in the hospital this year, but did enjoy a nice visit from the kids.  They brought me some homemade cards and drawings, and some freshly-picked tulips. Goofball made me a cute little candle holder at school – paper mache on a baby food jar.  I love these types of gifts from my children, but there comes a point when you can’t get away with giving mom macaroni necklaces anymore.  This little book would make a nice gift for anyone who is a mom.

As this book is from National Geographic, it is filled with stunning and adorable photographs of many different types of mother and baby animals.  Each picture is paired with an inspirational quote and/or interesting facts about the animal.  Did you know that mother dolphins create a special “slipstream” as they swim with their babies?  It keeps the baby in a calm wake, so it can keep up with its faster-swimming mom and helps with buoyancy.  I learned a bunch of neat tidbits like that one from reading through the book.

I will point out that most of the quotes are applicable beyond the mother-child relationship.  For example, Paulo Coelho is quoted as saying, “The simple things are also the most extraordinary things, and only the wise can see them.”  There are quite a few such gems in this book.

This was a really nice read for me right now.  Being a good mother often comes down to making sacrifices for your children, but they fill your heart with love and provide a sense of purpose as a reward for your efforts.  It was helpful to be reminded of this truth – applicable to both humans and animals – as I battle with new demands of mothering five children, while dealing with sleep deprivation thanks to nocturnal twins.

Amazing Dads

I love that there is a companion book recognizing the contributions of dads as animal parents.  Before reading through this collection of facts and photographs, I would have focused on the Emperor Penguin and the seahorse as examples of “amazing dads” in the animal kingdom.  While these two are definitely featured in the book, so are a ton of other nurturing animal fathers.  As with the previous book, the wildlife photographs are pretty stunning.

I learned that the red fox father teaches his babies how to hunt.  It was interesting to read about how they will bury prey near the den and guide the kits as they track the scent.  He will also play and roughhouse with his young to help them build up their strength.  I didn’t like the quotes in this book as much as those featured in the one about mothers.  However, this one by Ralph Waldo Emerson is pretty good: “We find delight in the beauty and happiness of children that makes the heart too big for the body.”

This book would make a good Father’s Day present, if your dad is a reader.  It’s pretty inexpensive gift, but serves as a nice little keepsake that can be perused a couple pages at a time.  Both of these books would be perfect for the coffee table, or a waiting room.

This will be my last book review for a little while – hopefully you’ve enjoyed learning about something new that you might like to read.  I’m planning on posting a new Monday Medley next week with updates on our BOGO babies, the rest of the family, and how we’re still working hard on living frugally, paying down debt, and moving forward on our journey to financial semi-independence.  But tell me – is there anything specific that you would like to see here on Creating My Kaleidoscope?