Mistakes- Brownie and Pearl

When I think of Cynthia Rylant, I think of quality books for slightly older children. Somehow I have missed the toddler books. I'm here today to try to "make good."  Brownie and Pearl Make Good is the title of the 8th in a series of  wonderful books for the younger crowd. This simple text book tells the story of  Brownie and her cat, Pearl who were running in the house. They knock over the radio causing it to break. Mom is not pleased but helps them find a way to make up for their mistake. There is no crying or yelling, just a very simple yet mature example of how you try to make up for a mistake. It is absolutely wonderful.

Children learn so much by example and this short story provides such a positive example of what to do when things go wrong. This book will help children who feel guilty for way too long, as well as those who just don't understand the hurt they may have caused to others.

As caregivers, we all deal with this issue everyday. Teaching children appropriate ways to make amends to others is not always easy. I plan to use this book in a classroom of 4 and 5 year olds, but it could be used for a younger group.  Before reading, I will have the children recall a time when something was broken in their life or maybe someone got hurt. Next we will read the story. We will follow up with a discussion of the feelings in the story and a discussion of how we can make ourselves and others feel better when mistakes happen. We already talk about how we can "fix it" when some thing happens, so this will be a great way to reinforce the concept    We might even make a class book of our own to help us recall what we can do. Even as an adult, it is sometimes hard to know what to do in the heat of the moment, but thinking back to how Brownie and Pearl did it might just make it a little easier. For those who work with the younger children, check out all the books about Brownie. The children may just have a new best friend.

P.S. Thank you to Bernice Crouse, executive director of the Franklin County Library System, for introducing me to this great series of books. As Frank Zappa said, "So many books, so little time" As much as I want to,  I just can't keep up on all the new great books.