
Growing up is not exactly a pleasant experience for any of us. Except when it is. Mo Willems Knuffle Bunny Free: An Unexpected Diversion, the last installment of his beloved Knuffle Bunny series, captures this double-sided reality perfectly. While comic in a way that is signature Willems, the story is also a touch sad and maybe best read sometime other than bedtime.
Knuffle Bunny Free opens on Trixie’s ever-expanding world. She, her parents and Knuffle Bunny are taking a trip to Holland to visit Trixie’s grandparents. As usual, Knuffle Bunny gets lost – only this time, he winds up much farther away than another neighborhood. He winds up in China.
In the setting of a foreign country, Trixie is forced to come to terms with the fact that “she was getting bigger. Even if she wished she wasn’t.” While she has her own adventures in Holland, she dreams of Knuffle Bunny’s adventures around the world. The joy that her little green friend brings to the children he meets moves Trixie to expand herself. She likes sharing that happiness with others.
In the end, of course, the two are reunited. But now that Trixie is growing up, her heart has a new sense of things. When the needs of another child come to her attention, she knows that Knuffle Bunny’s friendship is best shared now, and she will be OK. “She was big enough.”
With humor and the grace of perfect timing, Willems balances the joy and sadness inherent in the complexion of growing up, bringing this chapter in Trixie’s life to a close. His always wonderful illustrations, which combine drawings and photographs, make this a story that is both real and imagined – a story to which we can all relate, no matter how far we’ve travelled.
Erin Quick, Books Blogger for SmartParenting
The annual Kirkwood Greentree Festival will be held September 13 - 15 in Kirkwood Park. This free, family festival features a parade that steps off on Saturday at 10 a.m. beginning at Kirkwood High School, entertainment and food vendor booths, and kids activities.
Wagon rides, live entertainment, great festival foods, a petting zoo and much more make this an apple pickin' good time for the whole family. There will be pony rides, a children's carnival, opportunities to feed goats and other farm animals, caramel apples, funnel cakes and more.
See the Zoo's California sea lions perform acrobatic and athletic feats, including Olympic-style dives on a high-diving platform, flipper walks, frisbee tosses and plenty of surprises. While on stage with the sea lions, the Zoo's trainers explain sea lion behavior and positive-reinforcement training, in addition to the need for conserving the sea lion's ocean habitat.
Sensory Friendly Science Time features reduced noise, modified lighting and sensory-friendly demonstrations at the Saint Louis Science Center.
See the Purina Incredible Dog Team perform extraordinary feats of athleticism and skill right here in St. Louis at Union Station this summer and early fall. Performances are free and take place at the Purina Performance Plaza in front of the St. Louis Wheel Thursdays through Sundays at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.