Rise and Shine!

My eldest daughter, a girl after my own soul when it comes to a love of the written word, had me all to herself for five years. It was just the two of us and I felt the tremendous responsibility of parenting and protecting this little person all on my own. I tried valiantly (and, I realize now, futilely) to shield her from feeling left out of the two-parent world. I changed the lyrics of songs and banished all daddy-and- kids books from her rather impressive little library--except one. When someone, I don’t recall who after twenty eventful years, gave my sweet little baby a book about the work day of a farmer and his young daughter, I wanted to politely tuck it away as soon as possible and pretend it got lost somewhere along the way. Sure, it was a simple, beautiful book with rich illustrations, but it didn’t pass the no-daddy test, so it had to go. I didn’t count on one thing: the kid loved the book at first sight. Even at six months old she wanted me to read it multiple times a day. She could make the sounds of all the animals before she could say most words. She didn’t see what her world was missing, only an engaging story. So, Farm Morning by David McPhail not only stayed in our family collection, it has remained a treasured favorite.

http://www.amazon.com/Farm-Morning-David-McPhail/dp/0833573977

http://www.harcourtbooks.com/authorinterviews/bookinterview_mcphail.asp