Maria Morgan has published a great book for children - Louie's Big Day.

Maria Morgan's smile may look familiar, because she is the daughter of Norma Boeckler, our artist-in-residence, who also publishes on Amazon.

I have always enjoyed children's literature - and that did not stop when I was all growed up. Those who enjoy reading have favorites they read again and again. Not surprisingly, famous authors often mention their favorite authors, such as Nesbit and Twain. The Wind in the Willows is the Moby Dick of children's literature, so full of insight, drama, and humor that it should be read annually.

Children's books are easier to read than to write. Anyone who accomplishes this task must be creative and yet convey ideas and images in simple, plain terms.

Maria Morgan's Louie-the-Lawnmower page.

I downloaded Louie's Big Day as a Kindle e-book. That may be a handy format for the techno-grandparent, especially one who travels. Reading books to children is the best way to give them a good start in education. The experience bonds parents and children, grandparents and grandchildren.

My mother read books to us children, and I still remember choking back tears when Lassie was struggling to come home. In grade school our teachers often read to us, although we could read the same books. The practice kept us all still and we thought about the story as we heard the words.

Reading imaginative books and biographies will fuel a child's interest, provide a large vocabulary, and establish a base for learning that will never be satisfied. Did our grade school teachers realize that three of us from the same class would earn graduate degrees at Yale, in music and theology? If not, they certainly helped us get started.

I read books and stories to our children, leading to many inside jokes that still make a 40 year old son laugh. "It rained bricks and mortar for two weeks" - Mark Twain. "Attercop" - a terrible insult to spiders in Tolkien's The Hobbit. And the great battle cry - "A mole! A mole!" - The Wind in the Willows.

Louie the Lawnmower's big day concerns his first day home as a lawnmower. The lawnmower is personified, which is great fun for children. I can picture a child looking at the book and getting involved from the start, with such beautiful and vivid illustrations by Sherrie Molitor.

Louie is nervous about his first day mowing the lawn. Would he like it? Would he be allergic?

This takes the reader to a flashback, his days at the hardware store, with a drawing of all his friends waving goodbye to him.

Naturally, Louie is nostalgic about all the pranks they played at night. What follows next is a lot of fun, especially since children love messes. Everything is cleaned up before opening time, so the secret is safe.

So Louie's first day begins with sadness about the good old days, but he gets into the job and enjoys it, doing it well. A number of pages describe his work and the satisfaction he feels. But he misses his friends.

I thought this was a good story with great illustrations at this point, great for discussions with a child. "Can you imagine all that grass being cut?"

But the story is not done. The trunk pops open, and there are his friends in the trunk, ready to create new memories.

The book ends with questions to use at home and in a Christian day school.

Parents and grandparents will love this book, and teachers will enjoy using it in school. I hope many more books like this will come out in a series.

Order Louie's Big Day here.