A Gift for Mama (Puffin Chapters)

I remember reading this short book first when I was much younger, and most recently a few weeks ago, at almost twenty years of age. This is a fabulous story - it was then and I think I enjoyed it even more now. One of the major things I took out of it was the reason some parents are so adamant about their children making presents rather than buying them - when you make something the end result isn't the sum total of the project - there is time and love and thought involved. When we, in today's over commercialized society, just walk into a store and pick up the first thing we see some of the individuality of the gift is taken away almost. And so although Mama wasn't immediately impressed by her wonderful store bought present as Anna hoped, as soon as she learned the amount of work and time that was spent in earning that money is when she truly understood the impact of the gift. It also teaches children that although parents and adults may sometimes seem unreasonable and uncomprehensible to our young minds, there is a rationale behind what they do. Sometimes finding out what that is is more important than following the "rules" so to speak. :) A truly delightful book, perfect for younger readers as well as older. I recommend it to everyone.