Maggie Smith (2) (1965–)

Oh my. I just enjoyed this much more than I thought I would. Even though I don't celebrate Christmas, if I had small children I would buy this book and we'd bake the cookies, sing the songs, adapt the crafts, and enjoy the story and poems.

Secular but still focused on love & handmade, not commercial & stress, and vegetarian-friendly.

Do note that there is another series of Mousekin books by a different author; this one is by [a:Maggie Smith|81249|Maggie show more Smith|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]. Smith also promises more goodies at www.TheMousekins.com. show less

Paisley is an elephant stuffed animal who has been living on the toy store shelf for far too long. Paisley tells the reader a story about her dream of finding her match (an owner) and her perseverance to find that match. However, the illustrations tell quite a different tale. Poor Paisley is accidentally thrown away at the toy store and travels from a box of garbage to a laundry mat and into the hands of Pearl, the little girl who becomes Paisley’s proud owner. The contrast between what show more Paisley narrates and what is pictured in the illustrations is clear and is sure to make readers laugh. The illustrations are like mini paintings and the text is laid out on top of them to mirror what is happening. The text is arced and looks like it is bouncing as Paisley is flying in the wind or is angled so that it runs parallel to the roads in the picture. Paisley is endearing, and readers will want to comfort her by pulling her off of the pages and cuddling with her. After reading, you may be jealous of little Pearl, and you may even take a trip to the toy store to find your own Paisley. show less

This is about a little girl who is scared to go in the basement because she is convinced that there is a witch under the basement stairs. Every time she is asked to go down there she brings something to trick the witch. But, when she is all out of ideas she brings her stuffed elephant to help her. When she drops "Ellie" under the stairs, she builds her own armor, and goes down there to face the witch; the witch was no longer there. This story is great for kids who are scared of something, show more because once they face whatever it is, the fear they have will disappear. show less

An unwanted blue elephant waited in the toy store patiently for her perfect match. One day she finally decided to set out on her own to find her perfect owner. She traveled through the city, took a bath, and sadly ended up back on a shelf in a store. She jumped into a lost and found box where a little girl finally found her and took her home. She got the name Paisley and her dream came true. This was a great story and I liked the way that he text followed the illustrations on the page, it show more gave the book a different angle. Also if you pay close attention you can see the little girl early in the story that becomes Paisleys owner. show less