When Mama Mirabelle Comes Home (National Geographic, ISBN: 978-1-4263-0194-0) by Douglas Wood is a fun, educational, and energizing book and DVD set for preschool children. The three young characters, Karla the zebra, Max the elephant, and Bo the cheetah, play together and learn interesting animal facts from Mama Mirabelle.
The Picture Book
It’s a hot day on the savanna. Karla, Bo, and Max are bored and can’t think of anything they want to do. Mama Mirabelle is away from home so they begin to wander around aimlessly, thinking about Mama Mirabelle.
Each of them begins to talk about what they want to do when Mama Mirabelle comes back. They talk about running through the sprinkler, playing a game of hide and go seek, running, and racing. Karla dreams about Mama Mirabelle taking them on a trip around the world and Max imagines what it would be like if they each got to visit their animal cousins.
As Karla, Bo, and Max continue to imagine what they would do if Mama Mirabelle were with them, she suddenly shows up. The three friends are so happy to see Mama Mirabelle and they race up to her.
Mama Mirabelle has missed the three friends so much that she is ready to have some fun with them. What did they want to play first? Nothing. It was such a hot day on the savanna that they four of them sat under an acacia tree and did absolutely nothing.
Hide and Go Seek DVD
Karla, Bo, and Max are playing hide and go seek, but Karla is not having any fun. Because of her white fur and black stripes, she keeps getting found, and she has lost ten hide and seek games in a row.
Poor Karla is ready to give up, but then Mama Mirabelle shows up. Karla tells Mama Mirabelle that she doesn’t like her stripes anymore and wants to be brown or gray like her friends. Mama Mirabelle knows what to do, and she has Karla, Bo, and Max sit down to watch one of her home movies.
Karla and the others watch Mama Mirabelle’s movie showing live animals in the wild, and they learn about other unique animals. Some animals, like the tiger, have black stripes just like Karla has. Then there are animals that really stick out. Poison dart frogs and parrots, for example, all wear their bright colors proudly.
Next, Karla and her friends learn about camouflage. They watch another movie showing different animals that blend in with their environment. Karla, Bo, and Max have fun trying to find each camouflaged animal in the scenery.
Karla learns an important lesson in being unique and how to blend in with her surroundings. When she and her friends play their next game of hide and go seek, Karla becomes the hide and seek champion of the day.
Great for Preschoolers
Karla, Bo, and Max are such great friends. They capture all the energy of young children and they spark the imagination with their games and ideas. Mama Mirabelle, on the other hand, is a loving and comfortable character, full of wisdom and good advice. Together, all four characters create a memorable book and DVD that young children will want to read and watch over and over again.
