Mary Engelbreit

I had resolved never to buy another cross stitch book, absolutely not, nope. But the adorable cross stitched faces on the topsy turvey doll (one cross and one cheerful) won me over. This is a remarkably versatile book. Engelbreit's designs are charted into large cross stitch pictures, and smaller elements are turned into sweet little gifts and mathoms like the doll, as well as a gorgeous fabric gift bag, picture frames, and many other items. The theme is friendship and accordingly, the cross show more stitcher is encouraged to express feelings of affection without mortgaging all her free time for the next year, or two, or five. Excellent book for the patterns, for the information on how to finish items, and for the inspiration that might have you turning parts of other patterns into keepsakes and useful gifts. show less

I couldn't help it. I saw this book on Anne's desk last night and I had to pick it up. Mary Engelbreit holds the same weird fascination for me as Martha Stewart, and her involvement in this book is total and complete. It's a simple little book featuring Mary's illustrations and short, sweet and sometimes trite sentences to describe what kids do. Of course, the illustrations are the key, not the simple text. And maybe that's why there's no author listed. I can totally imagine Mary's show more promotions team sitting around a table looking at leftover illustrations from one of her other wildly popular publications and saying, "You know, we really must do something with these darling illustrations. How about a book of cute little sayings about kids? And we can sell it for 10 BUCKS!"

Some of the things kids do in Mary's world?

* Like reading a favorite book over and over again.
* Seldom clean their rooms.
* Give the best hugs.
* Watch the same movies over and over again.
* Show off.
* Spoil their dinner.

Some of the things kids do in *my* world?

* Spray their brother's deodorant on to the bathroom mirror at close range and ruin the finish on the mirror.
* Chew an entire pack of Bubblicious bubble gum...all at once.
* Maintain hidden stashes of candy throughout the house, thereby attracting every damn ant within a hundred miles.
* Wear the same pair of socks for a week because the others in the dresser suddenly became invisible.
* Enjoy spraying me with the hose every chance they get.

I can only dream of the perfection of life in a Mary or Martha world, but I can't help but suspect that life would be awfully boring. I'll take wet-hugs-right-out-of-the-bath and ice-cubes-down-my-back any day. show less

In Queen of the Class, Ann Estelle anxiously awaits to find out who her teacher, Mrs. McGilligan has chosen to play each of the parts in the class play. Of course, she sees herself as being cast as the queen. There can be no other way, until it isn't her name called as queen. Instead, she has been chosen to act as the play's stage manager. Her teacher feels that Ann Estelle's true talents lie there. By working through her disappointment, Ann Estelle learns that doing her best at whatever show more task makes her feel like a queen.

This is a beautiful picture book. How can it not be when it is illustrated by Mary Engelbreit? I read this separately to my daughters and they were both captivated by the story and the pictures. My 3-year-old usually can't go a single page without asking a question, but she was (mostly) patiently listening throughout.

The lessons in this book are excellent. Ann Estelle is mortified and pouty when she learns that Josephine will act as the queen, but she takes on her role as stage manager with creativity and heart. She learned something about herself by accepting what her teacher saw from the very beginning. It's okay to feel disappointed when things don't go your way. It's what you do with those feelings that is important. Because Ann Estelle put her heart into her role, her shining moment was all the more brilliant because it was without a jeweled crown or red velvet cape.

http://thenurseryatliteratehousewife.wordpress.com/2008/07/22/queen-of-the-class... show less

Mary Engelbreit’s Mother Goose Favorites is a very kid-friendly and (more importantly) condensed version of the Mother Goose nursery rhymes that have been collected countless times throughout the years. Unlike Blanche Fisher Wright’s edition of The Original Mother Goose, which favors antiquity over accessibility, Engelbreit’s adaptation attempts to modernize Mother Goose with cute, fleshed-out cartoons and (mostly) modern apparel. The majority of the illustrations feature the show more characters prominently in the foreground, and the backdrop is oftentimes simply a white space; this will help keep children focused on the characters and events described in the poems, rather than distracted by elaborate settings. The fact that Engelbreit chooses to depict mostly children in her illustrations will help make the seemingly-archaic nursery rhymes more appealing for children: interestingly enough, even adult characters like the Queen of Hearts and the Knave of Hearts are depicted as children dressed in adult wardrobe to help acknowledge the gap between fantasy and “play-time” for kids. Although Mother Goose has never needed much help with longevity, a book like Mary Engelbreit’s Mother Goose Favorites will bring these classic nursery rhymes to life for a new generation of children.

Citation:
Engelbreit, Mary. Mary Engelbreit's Mother Goose Favorites. New York, NY: Harper Collins Publishers, 2008. Print. show less