Thursday, August 16, 2018

"Mr. Pack Rat Really Wants That" - a bookwrap








 This is Mr. Pack Rat.  He is a rodent who adores gathering everything he can find that strikes his fancy.  I guess you could call him the ultimate hoarder.  Join him today as he explains his addiction.  Is there a cure? 



Unwrapping







"Mr. Pack Rat Really Wants That"

By MARCUS EWERT
Illustrated by KAYLA STARK




* Age Range 4-8
* Grade Level: PS-3
* Publisher: Plum Blossom 
* Pub. Date: October 30, 2018



Unwrapping some wonderful illustrations for you














































About the book



This delightful book is about Mr. Pack Rat who one day is so happy he feels that he might explode.  Why?  He has just built his first midden! A midden is a nest that pack rats build out of this and that, anything really that strikes their fancy and they can drag back to their home.  

Mr. Pack Rats midden's theme colour is basic brown.  He arranges brown pine needles, brown sticks and leaves, brown acorns, pinecones, and chips of bark that blend in perfectly with that theme.  Feeling he needs a break from all his creative labour he walks to his favourite meadow where the wildflowers are all in bloom.  The colours pop out at him and Mr. Pack Rat suddenly thinks about his midden and how boring the colour brown really is.  He decides then and there that only vibrant colours can make him happy.  Luckily he has an old metal bar that works like a magical magnet. He points the bar at the flowers and voilà the flowers are plucked and they march home behind him.  He is over the moon happy with the colour change until like flowers do... they all wither, turn brown... and die.  Oh my!  Mr. Pack Rat is not happy any longer. 

He tries his creative skills to make him happy once again by using sea shells.  Nope, they don't sparkle enough, and then goes for a heist to obtain toys, tools and games from his favourite store. Did he really steal those things from the poor store owner?  That's not good.  The last straw is Mr. Pack Rat trying to acquire the entire night sky because it twinkles and sparkles in its majestic vastness and that escapade ends up with a HUGE NOPE!   What was he thinking? 

Mr. Pack Rat has an epiphany and comes to the conclusion that things can not make him happy.  After some quiet time and reflection he discovers that he is happy already inside.  His redemption generates peace and contentment as he snuggles down in his brown midden for a good night's sleep. Yep, brown is cozy and Mr. Pack Rat approves... zzzzzzz. 

This delightful fable from Marcus Ewert, author of 10,000 Dresses, is a wonderful life lesson about being satisfied with and enjoying what you have.  A lesson that both the young and the old can adhere to. Great book to share and discuss. 





Storywraps Rating - 5++ HUGS!!!!!




"No Mr. Pack Rat you cannot have those Storywrap Rating words to hang in your midden.  They are the wrong colour.  





Meet the author






In addition to other writing, Marcus Ewert has worked on children's books since his teens, achieving acclaim with his award-winning books 10,000 Dresses (2008) and Mummy Cat (2015). 10,000 Dresses has been used in schools, churches, and youth groups around the world, as the first children's book featuring a transgender character. A hoarder himself, Marcus wrote his most recent book, Mr. Pack Rat Really Wants That, to puzzle out a resolution to his personal hoarding dilemma. Marcus lives in San Francisco, in a beautiful--and de-cluttered--apartment.












About the illustrator





  

Kayla Stark is a freelance illustrator currently living in Nashville, TN. Most of her work is illustrated using a combination of traditional and digital media. She typically incorporates animals and nature into her work one way or another. Kayla's art has been used for a variety of markets, including in children's books and educational materials.








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