Book of the Month: Laxmi's Mooch

 

This is probably one of the only if not the only picture book that addresses facial hair on little girls. Laxmi's Mooch by Shelly Anand is a book that needed to be written. Well-written and thought out, this book is the book for any girl who is embarrassed about the way they look and needs some confidence and self-acceptance. 

Summary: After Laxmi's friend Zoe points out the hairs on her lip, Laxmi is very self-conscious until her East Indian parents help her to accept and celebrate her appearance. 

Ages: 4-8

"'But, Mummy, I thought mooches were just for boys, like Papa.' 'Nahi! You know, we come from a long line of women with moochay," said Mummy. 'We do? Like who?' 'From Mughal empresses and stately ranis to village girls and city girls. Even your nani and cousin Radha. 'Everyone has a mooch, really.'"

Author Anand incorporates Indian culture with a great, encouraging message that shows that everyone has something they feel self-conscious about and it's best to embrace who you are. This is a great book to read to children for body positivity on a topic that isn't usually addressed--body hair.   

Virtual Program: Silly Stories

 For a virtual storytime this week, I read some pretty silly books and showed a silly flannelboard. Of course, this was a silly storytime theme!

For my first laugh-at-loud book, I chose Chicken Big by Keith Graves. What makes this book so silly is how all the other animals in the story can't be convinced Chicken is really a chicken. This is a good one to read out loud with funny pictures.

To take a short break in between stories, I told a rhyming story of Mr. Lou and his growing mustache. I find this gets the kids laughing in storytime at the library, so hopefully they were laughing at home when watching. Mr. Lou's mustache goes from tiny small to hilariously big. 

The second and final story I read was Because I Stubbed My Toe by Shawn Byous. This was a short enough story that is about a boy who stubbed his toe and causes a silly chain reaction in his town. 

For this virtual storytime, I didn't show any craft because our first book is on the longer side and I was already around the 15 minute mark, but there will definitely be more craft demonstrations in the future. 

Silly storytimes are the best!