Cameray Book Recommendation: Maya Was Grumpy

 

CAMERAY BOOK RECOMMENDATION: MAYA WAS GRUMPY

maya was grumpyMaya Was Grumpy is a children’s story written and illustrated by Courtney Pippin-Mathur. As the title suggests, the book is about a girl named Maya who spreads her grouchy mood around the house, affecting those around her. After a while, Maya’s grandma shows Maya all the fun things they could be doing – if only she was in a better mood. This starts to rub off on Maya, after learning she’ll miss out on swinging with the monkeys, bathing baby elephants, and hunting for hippos. Although Maya shrugs it off at first, with an “I didn’t want to do that anyway” growl, she slowly comes around and realizes that she can improve her own mood by doing fun stuff with her grandma.

This story is funny and entertaining, because it mixes fantasy with reality. Maya feels grouchy and grumpy at home, but it is grandma’s ridiculously silly suggestions for play activities that make her laugh and get out Maya out of her grumpy mood. We recommend Maya Was Grumpy for kids aged 4 and up.

How can parents use this book?

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Cameray Movie Recommendation: Disney Pixar’s INSIDE OUT

Inside Out

inside outHave you ever asked yourself what could possibly be going on inside your child’s head? Well now you can thanks to the new Disney movie Inside Out. The movie illustrates how a kid’s mind can be a pretty complicated place. The movie shows an 11 year old child, Riley growing up and learning how to handle her biggest emotions. Ultimately, Inside Out has important messages about needing to feel and express all of your emotions, whether happy or sad.

The essence of the story is to appreciate all of our emotions. The main character, Riley has the following emotions in her head that all of us have: joy, sadness, fear, disgust, and anger. Admittedly Fear, Disgust and Anger don’t come across quite as favorable as the other two do. Still, Sadness illustrated that life is full of a mixture of sentiments. That message will likely go over the heads of little ones who will be more entertained by the colorful animation and slapstick antics. Yet for older children and tweens, Inside Out can be a good way to begin a conversation about the importance of giving voice to all of our feelings.Continue reading