Motherhood Later...Than Sooner - For moms with more life experience than baby experience!

Once Upon a Book Review

Children's Book:
The Gift of Nothing
By Patrick McDonnell

Had I not become a mother, I would never have had the pleasure of discovering this little gem of a book. I have Seth, my son, to thank for this, among many other things.

Being the truck-loving boy's boy that he is, most of Seth's bedtime story books consist of something related to firemen, rescue vehicles, or construction. However, The Gift of Nothing is a title that I've managed to sneak into our reading repertoire.

While it may be considered a holiday book about gift-giving, I truly appreciate the message of this small tale with a lot of heart by Patrick McDonnell so I read the story with my son all year round. Using the characters from his much beloved Mutts comic strip, McDonnell delightfully tells the story of how "Mooch" the cat wants to give his friend "Earl" the dog, a gift, but can't decide what to get him. Mooch asks himself, "What do you get someone who has everything?" He decides he will give him "the gift of nothing." There's just one problem: "in this world filled with so many somethings, where could he find nothing?"

After a failed attempt at shopping and great frustration, Mooch gets a big box, ties it with a ribbon, and puts nothing in it. He presents it to Earl who says, "There's nothing in here" to which Mooch replies, "Yesh! Nothing - but me and you."

They hug each other, as best friends do, and "Mooch and Earl just stayed still and enjoyed nothing and everything" as they look out the window of Earl's home admiring the snowy, wintery outdoors, the moon, the darkened sky and all the wonders of nature during the holiday season.

I never tire of this book, and I hope you will join me in teaching your children that in this world of excess, less is more, and pleasure can come from many sources...all year round.

-Robin Gorman Newman



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