Day 41: Jamberry

If my son could turn himself into any children's book character, he would probably want to be the boy (or the bear) in Jamberry.  Berryland might just be his perfect place:  it has rivers of blueberries, shortbread cookie lily pads, marshmallow cat-tails, jelly bean bushes, meadows of strawberry jam, and trains full of blackberries.  The adorable animals who call Berryland home certainly know how to have a good time, with their berryband jamboree and berry-filled fireworks.  We had borrowed this fabulous story from the library several times, so decided that we needed our own copy.  (This is really becoming quite a dangerous trend... thankfully, this was the book the Easter Bunny left in our daughter's basket.)  Without a doubt, this is a positively brilliant children's book.  The rhythm and alliteration make it as fun to listen to as it is to read ("Quickberry!  Quackberry!  Pick me a blackberry!  Trainberry, trackberry, clickety-clackberry!") and the illustrations are whimsically wonderful.  It's easy to miss some of the finer details of the pictures, so be sure to look at them closely.  My favorite is the sign around the raspberry jam skating rink that says, "Please do not pick the jellyrolls."  I also love Degen's story-behind-the-story that is featured at the end of the book.  It reminds me of picking boxes of Maine blueberries in my grandmother's field, and I can only imagine the glory my son will be in when he can do the same this summer and eat them to his heart's content.  And then there will be the blueberry pies... yum!!  This is another story that is loved by kids of all ages -- both my son and daughter adore it -- and I am so happy to finally have a copy of our own.  Enjoy the jam jamboree!